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THE 



GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



by 



REV. E/LUVIES, 

ATJTHOB OF " BELIEVEK'8 HAND-BOOK," " HE LEADETH ME," " JUVENILE HISTORY 
OF BISHOP ASBTTRY," " BOOK OF ANECDOTES," 
" CHOICE HYMNS." 



" John truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be baptized with the 
Holy Ghost not many days hence. Ye shall receive power after that 
the Holy Ghost is come upon you." 

"Lord, we believe to us and ours 
The Apostolic promise given. 
We wait the Pentecostal power, 
The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.'* 




FOR SALE BY 

EEV. E. DAVIES, BEADING, MASS. 

JAMES P. MAGEE, JOHN BENT & CO., WILLARD TRACT SOCIETY, 
JAMES H. EARLE, AND CONGREGATIONAL PUBLISHING HOUSE, BOSTON, 
MASS.; REV. A. WALLACE, J. B. MCCULLOUGH, AND 
PERKINPINE & HIGGINS, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



r 



f! 



| Of C OKGl 



LIBRARY 
CONGRESS 



.H35Q-5 



®0 all f|mM# <rf §Mto», 

WHO ARE SEEKING, OR HAVE OBTAINED, THE BAPTISM 
OF THE HOLY GHOST, 

IS THIS WORK DEDICATED. 

AND TO 

WHO ARE ALL ENGAGED FOR THE 
SALVATION OF MAN. 



PREFACE. 



We are living in the nineteenth century of the 
Christian era ; and, in the blaze of the dispensation 
of the Holy Ghost, Christians, of every name, are 
alive to the importance of the highest experience in 
the Christian life. And how to attain that experi- 
ence, is the great inquiry of the public Christian 
mind. 

The following pages contain the substance of a 
number of sermons that I have preached on this 
glorious topic. I have been requested, from time to 
time, to publish these thoughts, and some have gone 
so far as to subscribe for the book before I could get 
it ready for the press. 

I have designed to make the whole subject so 
plain to your mind, and so desirable to your heart, 
that you will not rest till you receive " the 'prom- 
ise of the Father" so that the reading of this 
book shall make a new era in your Christian experi- 
ence. The operations of the blessed Holy Ghost 
are as silent and mysterious as the workings of the 

5 



8 



PKEFACE. 



forces of nature, and are but little understood by 
the gainsaying world ; and many of the true follow- 
ers of Jesus hardly realize the fullness of the bless- 
ings of the gospel of Christ which this dispensation 
affords. And, alas ! many doubt the possibility 
thereof. Since this is a subject of experience, I 
have appended the testimonies of a number of God's 
dear children. 

Read with care. Apply the subject as you go on, 
and be sure to realize, in your own experience, "the 

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GlIOST." 

Then go and scatter the holy fire, and help to 
save this wicked world from the power of Sin and 
Satan. "A Christian is like a coal of fire; he must 
set others on fire or go out himself." 

E. DAVIES. 

Reading, Mass., 1874. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 

PAGB 

I. The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. — 1. The Holy 
Ghost is God. (a.) Because of the Names He bears. 
He is called God. (6.) The Attributes of God are as- 
cribed to the Holy Ghost. Omnipresence. Eternity. 
Omniscience, (c.) Because the "Works of God are as- 
cribed to the Spirit. 2. The Personality of the Holy 
Ghost, (a.) He is spoken of as a Person in the Scrip- 
tures. (6.) Personal Acts are ascribed to Him. ... 11 



CHAPTER II. 

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE THREE DISPEN- 
SATIONS. 

I. The Patriarchal, or the Dispensation of God 
the Father. II. The Mosaic Dispensation, or 
the Dispensation of Christ. — Types. Symbols. 
Sacrifices. Christ came. The Promise of the Father. 
The Last Words of Christ. III. The Dispensation 
of the Holy Ghost. — 1. What preceded the Pen- 
tecost. 2. (a.) The Feast of the Pentecost. (5.) The 
Prophecy of Joel, (c.) Tarrying at Jerusalem. 3. Pen- 
tecost, (a.) Sound from Heaven. (6.) Rushing mighty 

Wind, (c.) Cloven Tongues 15 

(?) 



8 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE RESULTS OF THE FIERY BAPTISM. 

Upon the Personal Character of the Disciples.— 
Holy Heart. Holy Life. Holy Boldness. Spirit of 
Sacrifice. Holy Enthusiasm. Examples. Spirit of 
Meekness. Spirit of Wisdom. A Loving, Living 
Faith. "Wonderfully Social. Exceedingly Benevolent. 
The Crowning Gift the Power to Savingly Impress Men, 
and lead them to Christ. President Finney's Experi- 
ence 29 

CHAPTER 1Y. 

THE HOLY GHOST RULING IN THE EARLY 
CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

Scripture Quotations. Work of Evangelists. Further 
Quotations. The Holy Ghost in Early Church History 
and Discipline 43 



CHAPTER Y. 

THE HOLY GHOST IN THE CHURCH OF 
THE PRESENT DAY. 

I. The Privilege of all True Christians. — 1. Proph- 
ecy. 2. Promises. 3. Rivers of Living Water. II. How 
may we receive this Baptism ? — 1. Believe in the 
Holy Ghost. 2. Entire Consecration. 3. Be ready to 
do or suffer the Divine Will. 4. Wait in Faith. 5. Ex- 
pect it now. The Baptism is no Form of Miraculous 
Power. III. The Baptism of John and Jesus con- 
trasted. — 1. One is Water, the other is Fire. 2. The 



CONTEXTS. 



9 



one is as real as the other. 3. Emblem and Cleansing. 
4. Candidates. 5. It is the Gift of a Moment, not a 
Growth. 6. The Fiery Baptism may be repeated. . . 51 

CHAPTER VI. 

TESTIMONIES ON THIS BAPTISM. 

My own Experience. Rev. James Caughey. Bishop Ham- 
line. Rev. D. Steele, D. D 59 

CHAPTER VII. 

TESTIMONIES CONTINUED. 

Rev. J. B. Taylor. Dr. Levy. Mr. Carpenter. An aged 
Minister. Testimonies of Rev. A. B. Earle and Dr. T. 
C. Upham 82 



APPENDIX. 

THE THREE DISPENSATIONS. 

Fully expressed from " The Advocate of Christian Holi- 
ness." 94 



CHAPTER I. 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 

"WHO HATH ALSO GIVEN UNTO US HIS HOLY SPIRIT." 

" Jesus, we on thy words depend, 

Spoken by thee while present here ; 
The Father, in thy name, shall send 
The Holy Ghost the Comforter." 

ELOVED READER — Will you lay aside 
the thoughts and cares of this busy world 
while I call your attention to a subject of 
infinite importance to you and others ? A subject that 
I trust, God will make a great blessing to you. As 
this treatise is upon The Gift of the Holy Ghost, it 
has seemed good to me to call your attention, — 

I. To The Divinity of the Holy Ghost. We con- 
clude that the Holy Ghost is God, — 

1. Because he bears the names of God. 

Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the price 
of the land, and pretended to lay the whole at the 
apostles' feet ; and they were told that they did not 

11 




12 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



lie to men, but to God, because they lied to the 
Holy Ghost. We read (2 Cor. 3 : 17), "Now the 
Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord 
is, there is liberty. So the Spirit is the Lord, and 
the Lord is the Spirit." 

2. The Holy Ghost is God, because the attributes 
of God are ascribed to him. 

(1.) Omnipresence. — None but God can be ev- 
erywhere. The Holy Ghost is everywhere ; there- 
fore the Holy Ghost is God. " Whither shall I go 
from thy Spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy 
presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there. 
If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. 
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in 
the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy 
hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." 
Ps. 139 : 7-10. 

(2.) Eternity. — None but God can be eternal. 
The Holy Ghost is the eternal Spirit ; therefore 
the Holy Ghost is God. Heb. 13 : 14. "For if the 
blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an 
heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the pu- 
rifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood 
of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered 
himself without spot to God, purge your conscience 
from dead works, to serve the living God." Here 
the Holy Ghost is called the eternal Spirit, therefore 
he is God. 

(3.) Omniscience is ascribed to the Spirit. 1 Cor. 
2: 10. "But God hath revealed them to us by his 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



13 



Spirit; for the Spirit senrcheth all things, yea, the 
deep things of God." Now, that Spirit that could 
search the deep things of God, must be God; "for 
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit 
of God ; " therefore the Spirit of God is God himself. 

3. Because the works of God are ascribed to the 
Spirit. 

The work of Creation. " In the beginning God 
created the heavens and the earth. And the earth 
was without form, and void. And the Spirit of God 
moved upon the face of the waters." Job 33 : 4. " The 
Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the 
Almighty hath given me life." None but God can 
create. The Holy Ghost created ; therefore the 
Holy Ghost is God. 

II. I would show you that the Holy Ghost is the 
third person of the Adorable Trinity. 

Some have taught that the Holy Ghost is another 
name for the Father. Or, it is a mere figure of 
speech for the influence of the Deity. The Arians 
denied the personality, and said, "The Holy Ghost 
was the exerted energy of God." 

The Holy Ghost is a divine person, because he is 
spoken of as such in those scriptures that teach the 
personality of the other two persons of the Deity, 
and to him are ascribed the same acts, titles, author- 
ity, and worship, and in the same degree, as to the 
other persons of the Godhead. Isa. 48 : 16. " And 
now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me." 



14 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



The disciples were to baptize " in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
There are three persons distinctly spoken of, with 
equal authority and power ; and this passage plainly 
teaches the personality of the Holy Ghost. 

Again, the form of benediction teaches the same 
truth. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
the love of God, and the communion of the Holy 
Spirit, be with you all. Amen." A distinct per- 
sonality is taught here, and distinct blessings are im- 
plored of each person. 

Now, let it be distinctly observed that the Scrip- 
tures plainly teach the Divinity and Personality of 
the Holy Ghost. He is the third person of the glo- 
rious Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son in 
power and glory. Therefore- we are to worship Him, 
and pray to Him, and trust in Him, as we do in the 
Father or the Son. 

" Great is the mystery of Godliness," and great is 
the mystery of the Trinity. Still the doctrine is 
clearly revealed in the Word of God, and we must 
accept it in the name of the Lord. 

" Baptized into Thy name, 
Mysterious One in Three, 
Our souls and bodies claim 
A sacrifice to Thee." 



CHAPTER II. 



A BRIEF HISTORY OF TH.E THREE 
DISPENSATIONS. 

OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY GHOST. 

" Glory to God the Father be ; 
Glory to God the Son ; 
Glory to God the Holy Ghost ; 
Glory to God alone." 

T hath pleased God to divide the course of 
time into three dispensations, according 
to the number of the persons in the Trin- 
ity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
The patriarchal, or the dispensation of God the Fa- 
ther, began at the creation of man upon earth, and 
ended at the giving of the law from Mount Sinai. 
In this dispensation but little was known of God the 
Son, and less of God the Holy Ghost. God man- 
ifested himself to the world in dreams, and visions, 
and voices. He walked in the Garden of Eden, and 
talked to Adam and Eve face to face. He spoke to 
Cain and Abel in respect to their sacrifices. He 
walked and talked with Enoch three hundred years. 
He instructed Noah to build the Ark, and shut the 

15 




16 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



door thereof after Noah entered. He repeatedly 
spoke to Abram, and heard his personal pleadings 
for Sodom and Gomorrah. Jacob wrestled with 
Jehovah all night, and prevailed. God led the Is- 
raelites for forty years in the wilderness ; in a pillar 
of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. 

Now, all this was in keeping with the infant state 
of the human mind. Man was not ready for any 
more spiritual manifestation of God, and so God 
wisely instructed the family of man according to his 
infinite wisdom, and so men became more fully pre- 
pared for further revelations of divine and spiritual 
things. 

In the Mosaic dispensation, which commenced at 
the giving of the law on Sinai, or the dispensation 
of the Son of God, much is said about types, shad- 
ows, symbols, and sacrifices, and all these pointed 
the human mind to the blessed Jesus, who was the 
great antitype, the living substance, and the "Lamb 
of God that taketh away the sin of the world ; " and 
so man was taught to have faith in a Saviour that 
was to come, and he was saved by such faith, and 
was glad to have revealed to him this blessed plan of 
salvation. The Christ that was to come was the 
burden of the prophecies, the theme of the psalms, 
and the substance of the Levitical economy. 

Before this dispensation closed, Christ came, "born 
of a woman, born under the law, that he might re- 
deem them that were under the law." For thirty 
and three years he sojourned among us, and was a 



THE BELIEVERS PRIVILEGE. 



17 



man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. He 
taught his disciples that it was expedient for them 
that he go away, for "if I go not «iway, the Com- 
forter will not come unto you ; but if I go away, I 
will send him unto you." " I will pray the Father, 
and he shall give you another Comforter, that lie 
may abide with you forever ; even the Spirit of truth, 
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him 
not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he 
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." "But the 
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Fa- 
ther will send in my name, he shall teach you all 
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, 
whatsoever I have said unto you." 

John had declared, " There standeth one among 
you the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to 
unloose. . . . The same is he that baptizeth with 
the Holy Ghost." 

After the death of the blessed Jesus, the disciples 
were gathered together in sadness, and for fear of the 
Jews, the doors were shut. Jesus came and stood 
in their midst, and saith unto them, " Peace be unto 
you," and when he had so said, he showed unto them 
his hands and his side ; then were the disciples glad 
when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them 
again, "Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent 
me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, 
he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Keceive 
ye the Holy Ghost." John 20 : 19, 23. 
2 



18 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Before Jesus ascended on hi^h, he gave commis- 
sion to his disciples, " Go ye into all the world and 
preach the gospel to every creature. He that be- 
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that 
belie veth not shall be damned." 

But they were not prepared to go yet, for they 
were not anointed of the Holy One. Therefore 
Jesus, "being assembled with them, commanded 
them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, 
but wait for the Promise of the Father, which, saith 
he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized 
with water ; but ye shall be baptized tvith the Holy 
Ghost, not many days hence. When they, there- 
fore, were come together, they asked of him, saying, 
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the king- 
dom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not 
for you to know the times or the seasons which the 
Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall 
receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come 
upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both 
in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and 
unto the uttermost parts of the earth." 

And these were the last words he spoke to the 
disciples. " For when he had spoken these things, 
while they beheld, he was taken up,, and a cloud 
received him out of their sight." And so the dis- 
pensation of Christ was coming to its close, and the 
expectations of the Church of Christ were directed 
to the descent of the Holy Ghost. 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



19 



Dispensation of the Holy Ghost. 

I. Let us notice what preceded the Pentecostal 
Baptism. 

1. The Jews observed the feast of the pentecost 
to commemorate the giving of the law from Mount 
Sinai. It was the second great feast of the Jews, 
and was observed on the fiftieth day from the second 
day of the feast of unleavened bread. It is called 
pentecost^ from the Greek word pentecoste — the 
fiftieth. "The fifty days formerly included the peri- 
od of the grain harvest, commencing with the offer- 
ing of the first slieaf of the barley harvest in the 
passover, and ending with that of the first two loaves 
that were made from the wheat harvest at this festi- 
val. The offering of these two loaves was the dis- 
tinguishing rite of the day of pentecost. At pente- 
cost (as at the passover) the people were reminded 
of their bondage in Egypt, and they were especially 
admonished of their obligation to keep the divine 
law." Now, it was proper that the Holy Ghost 
should descend on one of those feast days, when so 
many multitudes of people were assembled from all 
parts of the civilized world. " The Jewish feasts 
were the bells that called the people to worship." 

As the giving of the law on Mount Sinai was the 
most glorious manifestation of physical grandeur, 
so the giving of the Holy Ghost was the most glori- 
ous display of spiritual grandeur. As the giving 
of the law was the ushering in of the dispensation 



20 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



of Chnst, so this mighty outpouring of the Spirit 
was the ushering in of the dispensation of the Holy 
Ghost. As at the giving of the law the masses 
were assembled around the mount of Sinai, so in 
the giving of the Spirit the masses were assembled 
around Mount Zion — the Church of the living 
God. 

2. We observe this day had been foretold by the 
prophet Joel. "And it shall come to pass, in the 
last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit 
upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters 
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see vis- 
ions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And 
on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour 
out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall 
prophesy." 

(1 = ) Observe that this promise belongs to all 
flesh. The Mosaic dispensation was confined to the 
Jewish nation and their proselytes, but this outpour- 
ing is for all flesh , or for all nations under the sun. 
Glorious day on which we are entered ! 

(2.) The Mosaic dispensation confined the priest- 
hood to the house of Aaron, and the temple service 
to the males of the tribe of Levi. But this dispen- 
sation is for both sexes, for there is neither male nor 
female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus. We are 
"a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, an holy 
nation, a peculiar people." 

(3.) The young men, being strong, should see 
visions ; they could bear the shock of a vision. 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



21 



"Your old men shall dream dreams." They are old, 
and require sleep in the daytime ; but they need not 
be discouraged, their very dreams shall be sanctified, 
and shall be acceptable to God. Blessed thought ! 

(4.) "Your sons and your daughters shall proph- 
esy, . . . and upon my servants and upon my hand- 
maidens will I pour out of my Spirit, and they shall 
prophesy." That is, upon those who are in a state 
of servitude as well as upon sons and daughters. 
Now to prophesy, in the New Testament sense,. is not 
so much to foretell future events, as it was to speak 
under the impulse of the Holy Ghost, to follow his 
teachings, and to communicate his messages ; and 
this shall be done, First, by their sons and their 
daughters, by those of both sexes, who belong to 
their own families ; not that all their sons and daugh- 
ters would do this, but some of both. So that we 
may learn that God would have our daughters as 
well as our sons speak as the Holy Ghost shall lead 
them. Second. The servants and the handmaids of 
our families shall feel the same blessed fire, and speak 
under the same heavenly impulse. No sex, state, or 
condition shall be exempt. Glory to God ! 

God says "they shall prophesy." Who will stand 
up and say "they shall not"? Now, it is manifest 
that we are living in the last days, for God is fulfil- 
ling this promise, and the daughters and the hand- 
maidens are going forth to declare God's message in 
a most public and decided manner ; and that body of 
men, lay or ministerial, that would stop this order of 



22 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



things, will find themselves fighting against God. 
They might as well try to stop the waves of the sea. 
They are not aware of the signs of the times in 
which they live. " The sons and the daughters shall 
prophesy." So let it be. Yea, so it shall be. The 
word prophecy is derived or translated from the Greek 
word propheteia ; its original import was that of 
predicting future events, but in the Old and New 
Testament it is used in the same import as preach- 
ing, and "denotes the faculty of illustrating and ap- 
plying to present practical purposes the doctrines of 
prior revelations. Thus, in Neh. 6:7, it is said, 
" Thou hast appointed prophets to preach." And 
Paul calls any one a prophet who speaks to men to 
edification, and exhortation, and comfort. 1 Cor. 
14 : 3. "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men 
to edification, and exhortation, and comfort." 

Now, it is in this sense that our sons and daughters 
shall prophesy in the last days. As the Holy Ghost 
is poured upon them, they shall be so filled with the 
Spirit that they cannot hold their peace. In the 
days of Wesley, who could stop such women from 
preaching as Sarah Ryan and Mrs. John Fletcher? 
In our day, who will stop Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Van- 
cott, or Miss Smiley? It cannot be done. The 
Holy Ghost is poured out, and they shall prophesy, 
and multitudes shall follow them. Now, when Peter 
was called upon to preach that memorable sermon on 
the day of pentecost, he pointed to this wonderful 
prophecy, and said, " This is that which was spoken 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



23 



by the prophet Joel." This is the fulfilment of that 
prophecy. 

3. The gift of the Holy Ghost was preceded 
by the protracted meeting of ten days in that upper 
room at Jerusalem. They were commanded to tarry 
at that city till they received " the promise of the 
Father." So they waited not in idle indifference, but 
in patient expectation. " They were all with one ac- 
cord in one place." Some of them might have thought 
it was a great waste of time and money to keep a 
meeting so long ; and still they continued in prayer 
and expectation till the promise was bestowed. 

II. Let us notice this wonderful outpouring of 
the Spirit at the pentecost. 

1. " And suddenly there was a sound from heaven 
as of a rushing mighty wind." 

(1.) It came suddenly. After long waiting they 
were suddenly baptized. So it is now. God often 
keeps us waiting to try our faith and patience ; but 
if we are patient and believing, he will come and 
bless us suddenly. 

(2.) It came as a sound from heaven. This was 
to arrest their attention, and strike upon the outward 
senses. It was a sound from heaven ; not a gust of 
wind that struck upon the sides of the house ; it was 
from heaven, it came down upon them, tf without 
shape, or step, or movement, to account for it — a 
sound as if a mighty wind was rushing, not along 
the ground, but straight from on high, like showers 



24 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



in a dead calm." This sound was heavenly in its 
origin and heavenly in its import. 

(3.) It came as a rushing mighty wind, indicat- 
ing that this Spirit would be mighty in its influence 
among men, and would sweep down barriers on ev- 
ery hand. 

(4.) Here we have the Holy Spirit set forth under 
the emblem of wind. Jesus had said, "The wind 
bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound 
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither 
it goeth." The Holy Ghost is to the soul of the 
Christian what the wind is to the body — an indis- 
pensable requisite to life. Shut up a thousand per- 
sons in one room, and make it perfectly air tight, 
and how soon they would breathe the life particles 
out of the air, and throw off those death particles 
that had come in contact with the blood, and given 
it its life-power and color (one person will inhale 
forty-eight thousand cubic inches of air in an hour, 
and in a day one million one hundred and fifty-two 
thousand cubic inches). Then they must begin to 
breathe this air over again ; but it is death to do so, 
and they begin to die, or they fall asleep, and faint, 
and are ready to perish. Now, let somebody open 
the windows and doors, and let God send the wind 
through that place, and in a moment the air begins 
to be purified, and the people begin to revive, and to 
look round at each other, and wonder what it was 
that ailed them before. They fell asleep, and could 
not help it. 



TILL" BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



25 



Just so it is, sometimes, with a whole region of 
3ountry ; the people are in a moral stupor — sleepy, 
droivsy, drooping, dying, spiritually. The minis- 
ter and people breathe the same moral atmosphere, 
and are alike in a state of moral drowsiness. Now, 
what shall be done? Are they to be left till they 
are dead, yea, twice dead? Is not this the case with 
many? I fear it is. Nothing but an outpouring of 
this heavenly Spirit will save th^m. Let them get 
together and begin to pray (I mean those of them 
that have any life in them) , and wait before God day 
and night, in the spirit of entire consecration, and 
by and by God will send the rushing mighty wind, 
and they shall begin spiritually to live, and be strong 
to toil for God. Then they will wonder why they 
did not have it before, and how they could ever have 
been content to have slept so long. There will be 
an infusion of new spiritual life, and all will feel its 
power. 

2. There were the cloven tongues as of fire. 

Here the Holy Spirit is set forth under the emblem 
of fire. "John indeed baptized with water, but ye 
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost ; " " and of fire," 
it was promised in another place. This was the fiery 
baptism. 

(1.) It may be well to notice the mode — " It was 
shed forth ; " if it had been by immersion, they would 
have been plunged into fire. 

(2.) The fire came not as shapeless as flame, but 
in the shape of cloven tongues. " It sat upon each 



2G 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



of them." "On each brow glowed a sheet of flame 
parted into many tongues : " and by this baptism 
they were able to speak to the people in their own 
tongues, wherein they were born. This was, in- 
deed, a mighty miracle, and may not be repeated. 

We may remark that the gift of the Holy Ghost 
in our day has a mighty influence upon the powers 
of speech. How many timid women, by this bap- 
tism, are able to-day "to testify the gospel of the 
grace of God " ! 

(3.) Fire is a very proper emblem of the Spirit; 
for this holy fire is to the spiritual world what mate- 
rial fire is to the natural world. There are many 
precious metals, gold, silver, lead, iron, &c, that 
are of little use to the world till they are put into 
the fire. First. To melt them. They must be sub- 
dued, and nothing but fire will do this. Just so it 
is with wicked men. They must be subdued by the 
fire of the Holy Ghost. They may have many ex- 
cellent qualities, but till they are melted by the Spir- 
it's power they are of little good to the world, and, 
alas ! that so many are a great curse. Second. The 
fire is equally necessary to refine the precious metals, 
yea, all metals. They must be purified by fire. So 
it is with the corrupt nature of man. It must be 
purified by the fire of the Holy Ghost: notling else 
can do it. Education and refinement are good in 
their places, but they can never purify the moral na- 
ture. They may serve as a cloak to hide some of 
the hideous deformities of that nature, but they can 
not purify it. 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



27 



(4.) Fire has a mighty power of impulsion in 
the natural and in the spiritual worlds. By this 
power our gallant steamers ply the mighty main, and 
carry their huge burdens of men and merchandise to 
the different parts of the earth. By this power our 
machinery is carried on through its many and mighty 
parts, and all this facilitates the comforts of human 
life. 

Thank God there is a mighty propelling power in 
the Holy Ghost, and by this all the enterprises to 
save the world are carried on. This fire impels the 
heart of the missionary to leave his home and dear- 
est earthly friends, and to go anywhere to save blood- 
bought souls from hell. Would to God we had more 
of this power ! 

(5.) This fire has a wonderful inspiration in it. 
It inspires our prayers, and enables us to "lift up 
holy hands (and to pray in the Holy Ghost) without 
wrath or doubting." Yea, it is the source of all true 
devotion. Alas! how formal the service of many, 
yea, of all, without this inspiration. 

We must now notice that the wind and the fire 
were but the emblems of the Holy Ghost, for we 
read, " They were all filled with the Holy Ghost." 
.This mighty baptism pervaded the whole soul. It 
illuminated the understanding, giving perfect peace 
to the conscience, perfect love to the heart, perfect 
submission to the will, and perfect purity to the im- 
agination. They w~ere now the temples of the Holy 
Ghost, living shekinahs, in which the heavenly 



28 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



glory dwelt and shone. Their bodies were thus 
sanctified to God. Their various members thereof 
were placed under the control of the fully sanctified 
soul, and were thereby brought into sweet subjection 
to the will of God, and only used for his glory. This 
was a great victory, and is as much needed now as 
then. This was, indeed, full salvation, for they 
were filled with the Spirit ; every part and every 
power was pervaded by the Holy Ghost. Then they 
were all filled — the whole of the one hundred and 
twenty. How blessed it was to belong to a church 
where all its members were filled with the Holy 
Ghost ! No wonder they had power ! In too many 
of our churches it takes one half of the membership 
to keep the other half alive — and then many die 
on their hands, and have to be given up. Now, at 
that rate, when is the world to be converted ? Never ; 
no, never. But let all God's people be fully saved, 
and how soon they can save the world ! 

"Expand thy wings, Celestial Dove, 

And, brooding o'er our nature's night, 
Call forth the ray of heavenly love, 

And let there in our souls be light : 
Illuminate the dark abyss 
With glorious beams of endless bliss." 



Note. — See Appendix at the end of the volume. 



CHAPTER III. 



RESULTS OF THE FIERY BAPTISM ON THE INFANT 
CHURCH, AND ON THE WIDE WORLD. 

UPON THE PERSONAL CHARACTER OF THE DISCIPLES. 

" Come, O Holy Spirit, come, 
And from thy celestial home 
Of thy light a ray impart ! " 

HIS is such a vital and important point that 
Ave must dwell upon it at some length. 
For we are anxious to know what these 
disciples received in that upper room, that we may 
now receive. 

1 . They were made holy. The remaining impu- 
rities of their moral natures were cast out or de- 
stroyed. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, nnd 
this left no room for sin, root or branch. 

They had manifested pride, self-will, unholy ambi- 
tion, unbelief, impatience, envy, — notwithstanding 
they had left all to follow Christ, and they had been 
given to Christ by the Father, and they were real 

29 




so 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



converts and true disciples. So there was a dupli- 
city about them that needed this mighty baptism to 
make them whole. Now, these inbred sins were 
cast out, and they were all the Lord's. 

Now, we find the same sins in true believers of 
our day ; and they may be destroyed by the same 
baptism of fire. This is the source of purity. Holy 
fire will burn up sin. 

There is great difference between the peace and 
the power of the Holy Ghost in the soul. The dis- 
ciples were Christians before the day of pentecost, 
and as such, had a measure of the Holy Spirit. They 
must have had the peace of sins forgiven and of a 
regenerated state ; but yet they have not the en- 
dowment of power necessary to the accomplishment 
of the work assigned them. They had the peace 
which Christ had given them, but not the power 
which he had promised them. This may be true of 
all Christians ; and right here is, I think, the great 
mistake of the church and of the ministry. They 
rest in conversion, and do not seek till they obtain 
the endowment of power from on high. Hence so 
many professors have no power either with God or 
man. They cling to a hope in Christ, and even some 
enter the ministry, overlooking the admonition of 
Christ to wait till they receive " the promise of the 
Father." 

2. Being holy in heart, they were holy in life. 
The tree was good, and so the fruit was good. The 
fountain was holy, so the streams were pure. There 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



31 



was no darkness in them, and so they shed a pure and 
heavenly light around them. This was a mighty 
victory, to be kept by the power of God, and pre- 
served blameless in this evil world. 

This is the believer' l s privilege to-day. We may 
be filled with the Spirit, yea, with " all the fullness of 
God," and walk continually in the light of his face. 

3. They were filled with the Spirit of Holy Bold- 
ness. 

So that the very same Peter, who denied Christ 
in the presence of a servant-maid, could now stand 
up and face the multitudes at the feast, and rebuke 
their charge of drunkenness, and press home the 
sword of the Spirit with such holy enthusiasm and fire, 
that they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall 
we do ? " Peter maintained this boldness ; for in a 
short time he is standing before the Jewish council, 
and charged not to speak any more in the name of 
Jesus. But he replied, " Whether it be right in the 
sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto 
God, judge ye ; for we cannot but speak the things 
which we have seen and heard." God is willing to 
give us all this same Holy Boldness. Dear reader, 
rest not without it. 

4. They were filled with the Spirit of Sacrifice. 
They counted no cross too great, no burden too 

heavy, no journey too long. They held themselves 
ready to go to any part of the world, for any length 
of time, among any people, barbarous or civilized, 
in the sunnv South, or in the frozen North, singing 



32 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



as they went, "Neither count we our lives dear unto 
ourselves." So we may finish our course with joy. 

Closely allied to this was another great endow- 
ment, namely, — 

5. They were filled with the glorious Spirit of 
Holy Enthusiasm. 

There was such an infusion of divine life in them, 
that they could not keep still. The activities of 
their souls ivere so intensified that they became an 
earnest, stirring, and successful body of men 
and women. Hence they diffused this spirit among 
the masses, till in one day they won more souls to 
God than they had ever done before. 

This live, fervent, and enthusiastic spirit so fully 
pervaded them, that they, of necessity, scattered this 
holy flame. There was so much divine energy in 
them, and they acted so strangely under its im- 
pulse, that the lookers on said, "These men are full 
of new wine." The more thoughtful ones were in 
doubt and amazement, and said, "What meaneth 
this ? " They had never seen such an excited mass of 
religious people together ; and if some of the quiet 
people of our day had been there, they would have 
had their sense of propriety greatly shocked. 

We must have enthusiasm in every good work ; 
and there is no wonder when men manifest zeal in 
other things, in saving the shipwrecked manner, in 
pulling men and women out of a house on fire, or 
in striving to regain a lost fortune. Then why not 
have enthusiasm in saving souls from everlasting 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



33 



burnings, and in regaining the lost inheritance of 
heaven ? 

Thank God, the world does not lack examples of 
holy enthusiasm. Dr. Duff, the returned missionary, 
fainted when making a speech for India. They carried 
him home ; but, as soon as consciousness returned, he 
said, "I was speaking for India — was I not? Take 
me back, that I may finish my speech." He would 
go back and plead for a land that he loved so well. 
He then said, "Is it true that we have been sending 
appeal after appeal for young men to go to India, 
and none of our sons have gone ? Is it true that 
Scotland has no more sons to give to the Lord Jesus ? 
If it is true that Scotland- has no more sons to give, I 
will be off tomorrow, though I have spent twenty-five 
years there. I will go again to the shores of the Gan- 
ges, and there be a witness for Christ." That is what 
we want. 

This enthusiasm made William Carey study, weep, 
and pray and labor for the poor heathen, and say, 
"I could bear to be torn limb from limb if I could 
only hear one poor Indian cry out, f God be merci- 
ful to me a sinner ! ' " 

6. They were filled with the Spirit of Meekness. 

How much they needed this to enable them to 

" Bear unmoved the world's dread frown, 
Nor heed its scornful smile ! " 

How meekly and Christ-like they bore their mock 
ings and scourgings, their bonds and imprisonments, 
their stripes and perils ! 
3 



34 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



So may we have that spirit of meekness by which 
we shall endure as seeing Him that is invisible. And 
just at this point, the piety of many gives way, and 
the cause of Christ is dishonored. They cannot bear 
contradiction nor persecution. They are far too ready 
to retaliate, and are not like Jesus, who, when he 
was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, 
he threatened not. O for a baptism of patient 
meekness upon all that are called Christians ! 

7. They were filled with the Spirit of Gentleness. 
The Holy Ghost descended upon Christ, at his 

baptism, in the shape of a dove; and the dove is the 
emblem of gentleness. " The Holy Ghost is infi- 
nitely gentle" and the disciples were filled with this 
God-like gentleness. This spirit takes away from 
us everything that is rough, harsh, or severe, and 
makes us mild, soft, bland; giving a gentleness of 
manner and voice. This may serve to show why 
this dove-like Spirit is so often grieved, and driven 
away, by those who will not cherish this gentleness 
of spirit. Dr. Steele has well said, "The Holy 
Ghost is the most sensitive person of the Trinity." 

Still, let it be understood, that sometimes the 
Holy Spirit will stir up the soul of a man to rebuke 
sin, or to tear down the kingdom of darkness, and 
for the time he may be terribly in earnest ; but this 
will all subside again to the gentleness of character 
which so well becomes the anointed believer. 

8. They were filled with the Spirit of Wisdom. 
It is the spirit of the God of wisdom, and it will 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



35 



make its possessor wise in the best sense of the word ; 
wise to win souls, and to gain heaven. The fear of 
the Lord is the be^innin^ of wisdom. How much 
more this fullness of gospel blessings. Some min- 
isters, with very little of school learning (which is 
good in its place) or pulpit power, yet by a large 
endowment of this heavenly wisdom are very suc- 
cessful in winning souls. 

This spirit will give wisdom to take care of the 
body ; for we are "the temples of the Holy Ghost," 
and this spirit would never lead us to destroy his 
own temple, or to hasten its' dissolution ; and as I see 
so many ministers and people, who, by overtaxing 
their bodies, are going into premature graves, I am 
ready to cry out, " O Spirit of God, help ministers 
and people to preserve their bodies ! " The more I 
am filled with this spirit, the more value I put upon 
the vigor and strength of the body, that I may live 
and be strong, at least, twenty-five years longer, and 
be more and more " a habitation of God, through the 
Spirit." 

9. They were filled with the Spirit of a Loving 
and Living Faith. 

This faith kept the communication open with the 
base of supplies. An army can be conquered by 
starvation as easily as in any other way ; and Satan 
knows that if he can get unbelief in between the soul 
and God, that the soul will die. But in that upper 
room they were so filled with faith, that they could 
realize the nearness of spiritual things that they so 



36 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 

much needed, and they could simply t: ash and re- 
ceive; " and so they Avere strong for the conflict. Let 
us look out at this point, and cry mightily to God 
for the fullness of faith. 

10. This little church of Jerusalem was wonder- 
fully social. 

They had a strong family feeling. They were so 
completely saved of God and joined to Jesus, that 
" they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine 
and fellowship, and in breaking bread and in prayers." 
Then they continued " daily with one accord in the 
temple, and breaking bread from house to house, 
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of 
heart." What a happy, social band they were ! 

" O, what an age of golden days ! 
O, what a choice, peculiar race ! 
Joined by the unction from above 
In mystic fellowship and love, 
Meek, simple followers of the Lamb, 
They lived, and spake, and thought the same ; 
They joyfully conspired to raise 
Their ceaseless sacrifice of praise." 

How wonderfully free and familiar this mighty 
baptism makes us ! We have a blessed example of 
it at our National Camp Meetings, where we meet 
Christians of every name, and from every part of 
this land, and sometimes from other lands. Yet, 
after we have had a mighty baptism of the Spirit, 
how we flow together in feelinsr and sentiment, and 
in spiritual conversation ! 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



37 



The lack of this social spirit is a great damage to 
the cause we love. Some are so stiff and formal, 
cool and calculating, that they repel instead of draw; 
and sometimes a whole church will be of that spirit, 
and a stranger in the congregation will never Gfet a 
word spoken to him, or a kind invitation to come 
again. Such a church might die on its own dignity, 
and probably will, unless it gets the blessed baptism 
of the Holy Ghost. 

11. This pentecostal baptism made them exceed- 
ingly benevolent. 

It opened their whole natures and made them ready 
to communicate in every way. 

(1.) They were liberal in spiritual things. 
They went everywhere to break the bread of life to 
the perishing multitude. They preached to the rich 
or the poor, in the city or in the country, in the val- 
ley oil on the mountain top. The word was as fire 
shut up in their bones, and they felt that they must 
scatter it broadcast. John Wesley and his co-labor- 
ers were very much like them, and, thank God, so 
are many of his followers. The more we scatter, 
the more we have. 

(2.) They were exceedingly generous in temporal 
things. " They had all things common." This com- 
munity of goods was exceedingly appropriate at this 
time, as there were many strangers at the feast that 
would like to stay with this Christian church, and 
learn more fully the things of God. So these young 
converts from the regions beyond were made wel- 



38 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



come. So " all that believed were together, and had 
all things common, and sold their possessions and 
goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had 
need." 

They were so spiritualized in all their views and 
feelings, that they accounted their temporalities as 
so many means of doing good. This spirit of be- 
nevolence actuates the hearts of all God's people, 
more or less, and this spirit must become far more 
general before the church has the money to carry the 
conquests of the cross to the end of the world. We 
exult at the many examples of benevolence in the 
church of our day. May God shed this pentecostal 
spirit of benevolence on all the people that name the 
name of Christ. 

" He comes, his graces to impart, 

A willing guest, 
While to find one humble heart 

Wherein to rest. 
And all the good that we profess 

His good we own ; 
Yea, every thought of holiness 

And victory won." 

12. The crowning gift of this baptism was the 
power to savingly impress the people and lead them 
to Christ. This is the greatest gift of all. 

To preach the truths of the gospel with such force 
and fervor that sinners were brought to Christ in a 
class, three thousand strong, under the first sermon, 
and still the work went on, for " the Lord added to 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



39 



,he church daily such as were saved," — the stoutest 
hearts melted before thero. They went on with this 
revival, and soon they had another baptism. For 
"when they had prayed, the place was shaken where 
they were assembled together ; and they were all 
filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word 
of God with boldness. And the multitudes of them 
that believed were of one heart and of one soul," 
and now they numbered about five thousand. 

This gift to savingly impress sinners so as to lead 
them to Christ, should be definitely sought and dis- 
tinctly received. It is a separate dispensation of 
the Spirit, and but few have realized its power, or 
that it was their privilege to obtain it. I am happy 
to be able to point you to a modern example that yet 
lives, although he is past eighty years of age. I 
mean Rev. Charles G. Finney, who says, — 

" In the evening of the day I was converted I was 
endowed with an overwhelming baptism of the Holy 
Ghost, that went with me, as it seemed, soul and body. 
I was immediately endued with such power from on 
high, that a few words dropped here and there to in- 
dividuals were the means of bringing them to Jesus. 
My words seemed to fasten like barbed arrows in the 
souls of men. They cut like a sword. They broke 
the heart like a hammer. 

"If I lost this power in a measure, I would set 
apart a day for private fasting and prayer, and in- 
quire for the reason of this ; and God would restore 
the power again in all its freshness. Sometimes a 



40 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



single word or sentence, a gesture, or even a look, 
will convey this power in an overwhelming manner. 

"I went into a cotton factory, and some trifling 
girls began to laugh at me. I was pained with a sense 
of their guilt and danger. I stood still and looked 
them in the face till my countenance settled upon 
them, but I spoke not a word. One of them became 
agitated, and began to tremble. The sensation ex- 
tended to others. The threads broke, but they could 
not repair them. I still stood and looked steadily at 
them. They fell on their knees till the whole room 
was pervaded with the same Spirit, although I had 
not spoken a word. 

" The owner of the mill came in, and seeing the 
state of things, he ordered the mill to stop, saying, 
f It is of more importance that these persons should 
be saved than that this mill should run. Stop the 
mill, and clear out one of these rooms, and let us 
have a meeting.'" They did so, and Mr. Finney 
spoke to them words of instruction, and in a few 
days they were nearly all converted, including the 
owner of the mill. 

"This power is a great marvel," continues Mr. 
Finney. "I have many times seen people unable to 
endure the word. The most simple and ordinary 
statements would cut men off from their seats like 
a sword, and would take away their bodily strength ; 
and this was not because I was preaching terror, but 
the sweetest tones of the gospel. 

" This power seemed sometimes to pervade the at- 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



41 



mosphere of those who are highly charged with it. 
Many times great numbers of people will be per- 
vaded with this power, when the very atmosphere of 
the whole place will be charged with the life of God. 
Strangers passing through the place will be instantly 
smitten with conviction for sin, and, in many in- 
stances, converted to Christ. When Christians hum- 
ble themselves, and consecrate their all afresh to 
God, and ash for this poiuer, they will often receive 
such a baptism of the Holy Ghost that they will be 
the means of leading more souls to God in one day 
than in a lifetime before. When Christians remain 
humble enough, they will retain this power till whole 
regions of country are converted to God." 

What shall we say of such a testimony from a 
minister who knows so well what he is saying? If 
this be true, then ought we not to fall down before 
God and plead for this power? yea, fast and pray 
till God bestowed the power in question, and made 
us mighty to win souls ? Is there any business un- 
der the sun equal to this? Nay, verily. We may 
not expect all the church to enter upon the pursuit 
of this blessing ; but will all the readers of this book 
do so? 

We have read how this power wrought wonders 
in the days of the apostles, so that they had a con- 
stant revival, and they went from conquering to con- 
quer, till they numbered their converts not only in 
Home, but in the palace of Cassar. 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



" O Spirit of the Living God, 
In all thy plenitude of grace, 
Where'er the foot of man hath trod 
Descend on our apostate race. 

" Give tongues of fire and hearts of love 
To preach the reconciling word ; 
Give power and unction from above 
Where'er the joyful sound is heard. 

" Be darkness at thy coming light ; 
Confusion, order in thy path ; 
Souls without strength inspire with might ; 
Bid mercy triumph over wrath." 




CHAPTER IV. 



THE HOLY GHOST RULING IN THE EARLY CHRIS- 
TIAN CHURCH. 

"BUT THE COMFORTER, WHICH IS THE HOLY GHOST, WHOM 
THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, HE SHALL TEACH 
YOU ALL THINGS, AND BRING ALL THINGS TO YOUR REMEM- 
BRANCE, WHATSOEVER I HAVE SAID UNTO YOU." 

" Holy Ghost the Comforter, 
The gift of Jesus, come, 
Glow our hearts to find thee near, 
And swell to make thee room. 

" Present with us thee we feel ; 
Come, O, come, and in us be ; 
With us, in us, live and dwell 
To all eternity." 



ANY of the readers of the New Testament 
have hardly realized how much is said 
about the Holy Ghost in the Acts of the 
Apostles, and how completely he takes the rule of 
the church, and guides it into all truth. To a close 
observer it is manifest that this is indeed the dispen- 

43 




44 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



sation of the Holy Ghost, and the mind of the Holy 
Ghost is consulted in a great variety of circum- 
stances. 

Peter, in his first sermon, says, " Therefore, Christ 
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having 
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, 
he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear." 
Then he says, "Repent and be baptized, every one 
of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission 
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
Ghost." 

When the same Peter was summoned before the 
Sanhedrim he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and 
said unto them, "Ye rulers of the people and elders 
of Israel." The Spirit gave him the boldness to face 
them and contend for the truth. 

When the council had liberated Peter and John, 
they went to their own company, and reported all 
that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 
Then they commenced a prayer meeting, and lifted 
up their voices with one accord, and began to plead 
in " the name of the holy child Jesus." "And when 
they had prayed, the place was shaken where they 
were assembled together, and they were all filled 
with the Holy Ghost, and spake the word of God 
with boldness." 

When Peter rebuked the first deceivers of the 
early Christian church, he told Ananias and Sapphira 
that they had sinned against the Holy Ghost. 

In the election of deacons for this early church 
they wanted " seven men of honest report, full of the 



THE BELIE VEK's PRIVILEGE. 



45 



Holy Ghost and faith." And they chose Stephen, 
a man "full of the Holy Ghost and faith." After a 
faithful career of service, this good man was perse- 
cuted, and when his enemies "gnashed upon him 
with their teeth," "he, being full of the Holy Ghost, 
looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory 
of God." 

The authorities of this church sent Peter and John 
to Samaria, and they were true to the dispensation 
they lived in, and began, at once, to pray for the 
people at Samaria, that they may receive the Holy 
Ghost, and " they laid hands on them, and they re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost." 

"While Peter was preaching the first gospel sermon 
to the family and neighbors of Cornelius, "the Holy 
Ghost fell on all them that heard the word." And 
they of the circumcision which believed were aston- 
ished, as many as came with Peter, because that on 
the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy 
Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues 
and magnify God. Then answered Peter, "Can 
any man forbid water, that these should not be bap- 
tized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well 
as we ? " 

In Barnabas we have a live example of the influ- 
ence of this anointing of the Holy One, for we read, 
"Barnabas was a good man, and full of the Holy 
Ghost and of faith, and much people were added to 
the Lord." This Spirit gave him power to lead 
people from sin to God ; and here I stop to remind 



46 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



the reader that this is the distinguishing blessing to 
be sought and obtained in the baptism of the Spirit. 
We do not want this baptism merely for our own 
good, but that we may do the greatest good to the 
masses around. 

As the disciples of this early church were minis- 
tering unto the Lord and fasting, " the Holy Ghost 
said, Separate me (mark the personality and author- 
ity of this imperative command) Barnabas and Saul 
for the work to which I have called them." This 
shows plainly that the Holy Ghost had entered and 
taken control of the church. "And when they had 
fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they 
sent them away. So they, being sent forth bv the 
Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia, and from thence 
they sailed for Cyprus." How blessed it must have 
been to have gone forth under the immediate direc- 
tion of the Holy Ghost. Yet, let us not forget that 
the Holy Ghost, in our day, says to the church, 
" Separate me this or that man or woman to the 
work to which I have called them." And I rejoice 
to live in the day when the Holy Ghost is moving 
upon the hearts of so many good men and women, 
to go forth and do the work of Evangelists. And I 
record it as my solemn conviction, that I believe the 
time draws near when the church, even the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, will ordain both men-arid 
women to this evangelical work, and make them 
members of annual conferences. This is also the 
conviction of one of the most popular professors in 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



47 



the Boston University. And Dr. D. Steele, in Zion's 
Herald, referring to the many invitations that Rev. 
A. B. Earle, the Baptist Evangelist, has had to help 
Methodist pastors in holding revival services, says, 
"This state of the facts raises the question whether 
the Methodist Episcopal Church is doing her whole 
duty in making no provision in her itinerant system 
for an office of so great usefulness. If our churches 
are calling for this class of laborers, and are draw- 
ing upon other denominations for their supply, is it 
not wise to give them a place in our annual confer- 
ence ? " 

There are members of our annual conferences to- 
day who are compelled by the impulses of the Holy 
Ghost to leave the pastoral work, and go through 
the country as Evangelists, holding camp-meetings 
and assisting the pastors in glorious revival ser- 
vices ; and the success given to such labors is a seal 
of approval, by the Holy Ghost, of their call to this 
w T ork. Yet, through the imperfection of our disci- 
pline, these men have to take a supernumerary relation 
without appointment, and then one of our leading 
church papers calls them " ecclesiastical invalids." 
But they are still giants in God's cause. Every 
good cause has to be tried, and so must this ; but the 
tide is setting in this direction, *and God's blessing is 
upon it, and it will prevail. 

But I hasten to finish my quotations from the Acts 
of the Apostles, showing the power and authority of 
the Holy Ghost in this last dispensation. While 



48 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Barnabas and Saul (now called Paul) were laboring 
among the Gentiles, Elymas, the sorcerer, withstood 
them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the 
faith. Then Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set 
his eyes on him, and said, O, full of all subtlety and 
all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of 
all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the 
right ways of the Lord?" 

Here we see the Holy Ghost inspired them with 
power to rebuke their enemies, and we need this as 
well as every other good thing. This same blessed 
Spirit was given to comfort the disciples under their 
trials ; for when Barnabas and Paul were expelled 
from a certain coast, they shook the dust off their 
feet against them, and came unto Iconium. And 
"the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy 
Ghost." 

This early church was made up mostly of Jews; 
but in time the Gentiles were converted, and many 
questions arose in their council at Jerusalem. "For 
there was certain of the sect of the Pharisees which 
believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise 
them (the Gentile converts), and to command them 
to keep the law of Moses." But Peter contended 
that they had received the Holy Ghost as well as the 
Jews, and put no difference between us and them, 
purifying their hearts by faith. Then Paul rose up 
and declared what miracles and wonders God had 
wrought amon^ the Gentiles where he and Barnabas 
had preached. The conclusion of the council was, 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



49 



that they wrote letters to the Gentile churches, say- 
ing, " It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, 
to lay upon you no greater burden than these neces- 
sary things : That ye abstain from meats offered to 
idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, 
and from fornication ; farewell." So they were 
guided by the Holy Ghost in this important matter 
of church history and discipline. 

Paul, in his journeys, came to Ephesus ; and there 
he found certain disciples, and they were so weak in 
the faith and feeble in spirit, and so faint in their 
devotions, that he asked them, almost abruptly, 
"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye be- 
lieved?" Have you experienced this distinguishing 
blessing of the dispensation of grace which you are 
now in ? They frankly and honestly replied, "We 
have not so much as heard whether there be any 
Holy Ghost." 

Alas that there are so many at the present day who 
do not realize the mighty privilege of the New Tes- 
tament saints ! I met a man one morning, and he 
said, — 

"I thank you, Mr. Davies, for the sermon you 
preached last night on the Holy Ghost. I never 
knew, till lately, that I could be saved from all my 
sins. I thought I must struggle with them till 
death." 

" Do you know it now, brother? " 
" Yes, thank God, I do." 

This dear brother had been a member of a gooc* 
4 



50 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



Orthodox church for twenty-four years. Are there 
not too many just like him, who have their names 
on the church records? O that God's dear people 
might all know the glorious privileges of the blessed 
gospel, and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost ! 

"Refining fire, go through my heart, 
Illuminate my soul, 
Scatter thy light through every part, 
And sanctify the whole." 



CHAPTER V. 



"MAY ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS BE BAPTIZED 
WITH THE HOLY GHOST?" 



REPLY most sincerely, "Yes;" for the 
following good reasons : — 

1. The prophecy of Joel on which we 
have dwelt was for all flesh. This fullness of the 
Spirit was for the sons and daughters in God's family, 
and also for the servants and handmaids ; and that 
must mean everybody in the household. Even you, 
dear reader, may know by your own experience, that 
the Holy Ghost can fully save. 

2. Jesus taught us, "If ye, being evil, know how 
to give good things to your children, how much more 
shall your Father, which is in heaven, give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him ! " What can be 
clearer than this ? How much more is God both able 
and willing to give this Spirit, in his plenitude and 
power, than we parents are to give good gifts to our 
children ! and all this on the simple terms of asking. 

3. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, 

51 




52 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Jesus stood, and cried, If any man thirst, let him 
come unto me and drink." " He that believeth on 
me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall 
flow rivers of living waters." 

But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that 
believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost 
was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet 
glorified. 

This is a glorious portion of Holy Writ, and 
teaches, — - 

1. That it referred to the dispensation which fol- 
lowed the ascension of Christ. 

2. That till then the Holy Spirit would not de- 
scend in his fullness. 

3. But after this, then all who believe on Christ, 
" as the Scripture hath said," there shall flow out 
from them streams of living influence ; their hearts 
shall be like fountains ever springing, ever flowing in 
perennial beauty, spreading spiritual life and verdure 
all around. 

4. And all this was not confined to one man, or 
one class of Christians, but was freely given to all 
that believe on Jesus, as the Scripture hath said. 
So that it was not confined to the day of pentecost, 
but is the common privilege of all believers of this 
dispensation. Christ is already glorified, and there- 
fore all who will so believe on him shall receive 
this Spirit in this more abundant manner, and thus 
they shall become fountains of living power and 
heavenly influence. 



THE BELIEVEKS PRIVILEGE. 



53 



This blessing is for you, dear reader, if already 
you have obtained the pardon of your sins, and have 
been born into the family of God. Tarry in some 
secret place, and lay yourself at Jesus' feet, and wait 
till you are "endowed with power from on high." 

HOW MAY I RECEIVE THIS BAPTISM? 

This is a grave question ; mighty interests are at 
stake. The salvation of souls depends upon your 
receiving this power, and it may be the salvation of 
your own soul ; for if you know that by this baptism 
you may do more good, and you do not do it, to you 
it is sin ; so that you may endanger your own eter- 
nal interests, if you neglect this great salvation. 

1. You must admit it as an article of your creed, 
so that you can say, "I believe in the Holy Ghost, 
yea, in the baptism of the Holy Ghost." You will 
never seek what you do not believe obtainable. How 
can you doubt this, after so much evidence? 

2. You must submit yourself wholly, and forever, 
to God, all your body, all your soul, all your mind, 
and all your strength, all your property, or all your 
poverty, all your friends, and all your enemies. 
Will you make this consecration, and say, — 

" Take my soul and body's powers ; 
Take my memory, mind, and will j 
All my goods, and all my hours ; 

All I know, and all I feel ; 
All I think, or speak, or do ; 
Take my heart, but. make it new." 



54 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



3. You must hold yourself ready to do, or to 
suffer, the will of God at all times, in all places, 
and forevermore. *'J5Tot my will, but thy will , be 
done in me, and by me." 

4. You must wait for this heavenly baptism, not 
in cold indifference, or sloth, but in the spirit of ear- 
nest prayer, and of implicit faith, pleading the prom- 
ises, and expecting their fulfilment; wait in the 
discharge of every duty, holding yourself ready to 
use the power for the divine glory, and it shall be 
given. 

" Father, glorify thy Son ! 
Answer his all-powerful prayer : 
Send the Intercessor down, 
Send the other Comforter, 

" Whom, believingly, we ciairn, 
Whom we ask in Jesus" name ; 
Wilt thou not the promise seal, 
Good and faithful as thou art ? 

" Send the Comforter to dwell 
Every moment in our hearts ; 
Yes, thou must this grace bestow; 
Truth hath said, it shall be so." 

After writing the above, I found the following, in 
the " Advocate of Christian Holiness : " — 

"The Spirit, as the crowning glory and promise 
of the new dispensation, is not, although super- 
natural, any form of miraculous power. As a 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



55 



miracle-working power he has been in the church 
ever since the fall, and had been imparted, as such, 
to the disciples prior to the death of Christ. Yet, 
as promised by the Saviour, and foretold by the 
prophets, he was not given till after Christ was glori- 
fied. The baptism of the pentecost was the begin- 
ing of the fulfilment of this promise. 

" The Spirit sustains one relation to the world, 
and quite another to the church. To the former 
he is a convicting and converting power ; to the 
latter he is an all-illuminating, all -sanctifying, and 
all-strengthening presence, through whom we are 
continually transformed into the divine image, from 
glory to glory ; brought into fellowship with God 
the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ ; have a contin- 
uous current of eternal fruition, and are 'filled with 
all the fullness of God.' 

"The promise of the Spirit does not pertain merely 
to the apostles and the primitive church, or to a 
favored few in subsequent ages ; it is, on the other 
hand, the common gift to all who believe in Christ, 
the least as well as the greatest, and that to the end 
of time. 

" Nothing can be more specific than the teachings 
of Scripture on this point. 'All thy children shall 
be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace 
of thy children.' 'The promise is to you, and to 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even to as 
many as the Lord our God shall call.'" 



5G 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Great Spirit, by whose mighty power 

All creatures live and move, 
On us thy benediction shower ; 

Inspire our souls with love ! 

" Hail, Source of Light ! arise and shine ! 
All gloom and doubt dispel — 
Give peace and joy, for we are thine ; 
In us forever dwell. 

" From death to life our spirits raise, 
And full redemption bring ; 
New tongues impart to speak the praise 
Of Christ, our God and King." 



Let us consider the Baptism of John and the Bap- 
tism of Jesus. 

1. The baptism of John was a real application of 
water to the candidate. The water must have 
touched the body, or there would have been no bap- 
tism ; just so Jesus really baptizes us w r ith the Holy 
Ghost. This blessed Spirit touches, yea, actuates 
and pervades the soul. 

2. John baptized with water , Jesus baptizes with 
fire. 

3. The water is the emblem of cleansing, the fire 
is the cleansing itself ; the one is the outward and 
visible sign, the other is the inward and spiritual 
grace. 

4. Men became candidates for the baptism of 
water ; just so men must become candidates for the 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



57 



baptism of the Holy Ghost, and must set themselves 
apart for it, and must be willing that heaven and 
earth should know that they are fully consecrated to 
seek and obtain this anointing. 

5. A candidate may be some time in preparing to 
go forward in the ordinance of baptism by water ; 
still, when he is baptized, it must be in a moment : 
there is a point of time when this water is applied, 
and he is baptized ; just so the candidate may be 
some time in getting ready for the fiery baptism, but 
the baptism itself will be in a moment. Suddenly 
came the blessing at the pentecost, and suddenly 
will He that baptizes with fire do the mighty work. 
"The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to 
his temple." 

Many people think they can obtain this baptism by 
a growth in grace. True, you must grow in the grace 
of regeneration, that you may be kept from back- 
sliding, and that you may have the desire for the 
fiery baptism ; but you cannot grow into the bap- 
tism. This cannot be in the nature of things. This 
• baptism is a gift, not a development. It is the 
promise of the Father, bestowed in a moment upon 
all who meet the conditions. 

6. John's baptism was received but once, Jesus 
baptizes again and again. 

Dear reader, do you realize that there standeth 
by your side just now the very Jesus, who baptizes 
with the Holy Ghost ? Are you a candidate ? Do 
you now present yourself for this baptism? And 



58 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 

are you willing to receive it, and take the conse- 
quences, and follow out the leadings of the Spirit, 
all the days you stay on this mortal shore ? Then 
the baptism is near ; expect it now. 



CHAPTER VI. 




TESTIMONIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BAP- 
TIZED WITH THE HOLY GHOST. 

forjT always gives point to a sermon when the 
preacher can appeal to his own experience 
-M in attestation to the truth of the doctrine 
he preaches. So the reader will allow me to mag- 
nify the grace of God in me, while I bear witness to 
the power of the Holy Ghost. 

" Come near, all ye that fear the Lord, and I will 
tell you what great things he hath done for my soul/ 
I was truly converted to God at the age of twelve 
years. After a few months I gradually fell away ; 
for five years I was a backslider. After a fierce and 
bitter conflict, I was reclaimed. Then I was fully 
resolved to be faithful, to obey the leadings of the 
Holy Ghost. By fasting and prayer I was baptized 
with the spirit of prayer, so that I could pray in the 
Greatest consreo-ation. I beo;an to work for God in 
every way, and with all my might. 

But I found the workings of sin in my soul — the 

59 



60 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



remains of the carnal mind. I had faith, but it was 
not the full assurance of faith ; I had love, but it was 
not the perfect love that casteth out fear ; I had 
peace, but it was not the peace that passeth all 
understanding. In the memoirs of holy men and 
women I saw a spirit of sacrifice, of meekness and 
devotion, that I did not possess. I panted for purity 
and power. It became a necessity ; I must have it, 
I fasted and prayed T and mortified the deeds of the 
body. I found the blessing must be received by 
faith, and if by faith it might be now. So I re- 
solved one night that I would never retire to rest till 
I had received this lon^-souo-ht blessing. 

I continued in prayer and devotion, and in the 
spirit of entire consecration and faith, till about eleven 
o'clock, when God shed down such a baptism of the 
Spirit upon my soul, such a heaven, such a stillness, 
such a sense of purity, such a joy in the Holy Ghost, 

" A sacred awe that dared not move, 
And all the silent heaven of love " ! 

Then I had the witness of my own spirit that the 
work was done, for I was conscious of it ; my own 
heart attested it ; I knew the long-sought blessing 
was mine. 

Then, in the clearest and most direct manner, the 
Holy Ghost bore witness. There was a spirit voice 
to the spirit ear ; so the assurance was complete. 
There was a well-spring of joy in my heart, and 
spontaneously as life there welled up in my soul a 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



61 



living spring of gratitude. " Praise the Lord," 
"Praise the Lord," "Praise the Lord," was the last 
thing in the evening and the first thing in the morn- 
ing, and all the day beside ; and if I woke up in the 
night it was the same. This was about three months 
after I was reclaimed. In the spirit of this baptism 
I began to preach from house to house, and soon 
from Sabbath to Sabbath. 

In about three years my way opened to come 
to America : and the hardest thing to leave in 
England was my mother's grave. With this per- 
fect love in my heart, and three letters of recom- 
mendation from Rev. Dr. James Dixon to Dr. 
Bangs, Dr. A. Stevens, and Bishop Janes, I came 
to this favored land, and God gave me victory in 
every charge, i. e. on every field of labor, 

I was wonderfully baptized of this Spirit at Ham- 
ilton and Round Lake National Camp Meetings. 
Again and again at different camp meetings I have 
been " filled with the Holy Ghost." Yea, at times 
I have been filled unutterably full of glory and of 
God. 

Baptism of the Holy Ghost for the Work of an 
Evangelist. 

For years I have been told that I ought to be an 
Evangelist, and I did go about and help the pastors 
in revivals in many places ; but January 1, 1871, I 
was reading in my family for the second time the 
book called "Bringing in Sheaves," by Rev. A. B. 



62 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Earle, and when I saw the marvellous works that 
God wrought by him, I fell back with astonishment, 
and cried out, " O Lord, is it possible for one man 
to do so much good, when he is wholly given 
up to it ? Then would it be for thy glory to have 
another just like him. If so, here I am, Lord ; take 
me." And in a moment I was filled and thrilled 
with the Holy Ghost ; my whole being was pervaded 
with his mighty power. I declared to my family, 
" I am an Evangelist from this very hour ! " My 
Charley said, "What will you do with us, father?" 
"The Lord will take care of you." In a few weeks 
my way opened to go out in this work where help 
was much needed. God gave success, and so he 
has in every place for the past three years. They 
have been by far the best of my life. In seven 
months I saw about five hundred souls saved, and 
multitudes of believers quickened or fully sanc- 
tified. 

I am praying God to spare me twenty-five years, 
and help me to lead one hundred thousand souls to 
Christ ; and I hope to do it. Still I am waiting for 
richer baptisms of the Spirit, and for more power 
with God and men. I do not want to go to heaven 
to be happy ; I have a little heaven here. " Glory 
crowns the mercy seat." I do not want to go to 
heaven to be holy, for the blood of Christ and the 
power of the Holy Ghost make me holy here ; and 
this holiness all must have, or they will never enter 
heaven. 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



63 



Testimony of Rev. James Caughey, Evangelist. 

He says, "From the hour I read the following 
striking remarks of Dr. Adam Clark, a few months 
previous to my ordination, I have never varied a 
hair's breadth from the great truths they advocate. 
They were very nearly as follows : — 

" But all this spiritual and rational preaching will 
be of no avail, unless another means of God's choos- 
ing be superadded, to give it an effect, namely : 
the spirit and influence of the Holy Ghost; that 
spirit of life and fire penetrates in a moment the 
sinner's heart, and drags out to the view of his con- 
science those innumerable crimes which he concealed 
there, under successive layers of deep and thick 
darkness ; when under that luminous burning agency 
he is compelled to cry out, f God, be merciful to me, 
a sinner ! ' f Save, Lord, or I perish ! ' 

"I shall have eternal cause for thankfulness that 
the above sentiments ever came to my notice. If 
my ministry has been rendered a blessing to any, 
that blessing has been vouchsafed, through the merits 
of Christ, to a steady recognition of the necessity of 
the influence of the Holy Ghost. On the evening 
of that never-to-be-forgotten day in which I read the 
above extract, I took up my pen in secret before God, 
and gave vent to the emotions of my deeply im- 
pressed heart in language something like the fol- 
lowing : — 

"I see, I feel, now, as I have never done before, 



64 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



upon this particular subject ; from the convictions of 
this hour I hope never to vary. I see, I feel — 

"1. The absolute necessity of the immediate influ- 
ence of the Holy Ghost to impart point, power, 
efficiency, and success to a preached gospel. 

"2. The absolute necessity of praying more fre- 
quently, more fervently, more per sever ingly, more 
belie vingly, for the aid of the Holy Spirit in my 
ministry. 

"3. That my labors must be powerless, comfort- 
less, and valueless, without this aid; a cloud with- 
out water ; a tree without fruit, dead and rootless ; a 
sound uncertain, and without unction, and meaning- 
less : such will be the character of my ministry. 

" It is the Spirit alone that imparts significance and 
power to the word preached, without which all the 
threateni.no;s of the Bible will be no more than thun- 
der to the deaf or lightning to the blind. A seal 
requires weight and a hand upon it, in order to 
make an impression. The soul of the impenitent 
sinner is the wax, gospel truth is the seal ; but with- 
out the almighty hand of the Holy Ghost that seal is 
powerless. A bullet demands its powder, without 
which it is as harmless as any other body. The 
careless sinner is the mark, truth is the ball that 
must pierce him ; but it cannot reach, much less 
penetrate him, separate from this influence from 
heaven. In apostolic times they preached the gospel 
tvith the Holy Ghost sent doion from heaven. In 
our day we need the energy from no lower source to 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



65 



overturn the wickedness of the vile and the profane, 
and to counteract the formality and the worldliness 
that are everywhere manifest. 

" 4. I am now .fully convinced that in proportion as 
the Spirit of God shall condescend to second my 
efforts in the gospel message, I shall be successful. 
No man has ever been signally useful in winning souls 
to Christ without the help of the Spirit. With it the 
humblest talent may astonish earth and hell by gath- 
ering into the path of life thousands for the skies. 

" 5. The entire glory of all my success shall hence- 
forth be given to the Holy Spirit. By this I shall 
conscientiously abide as by any other principle of 
our holy religion. It is written, r Them that honor 
me I icill honor.' To this may be added that rio-ht- 
eous, inalienable, and unchanging determination of 
Jehovah, * My glory will I not give to another.'" 

Years afterwards Mr. Caughey exclaimed, when in 
the full blaze of success in Europe, — 

"Amazing goodness, that I should be thus owned 
of God ! I know the reason. It is because there is 
a distinct understanding between my poor soul and 
heaven ; that no portion of the glory of such a 
work shall be appropriated by me either to myself 
or others ; that I am to feel as deeply humbled 
before God when thousands are converted under my 
ministry, as when only one sinner has been con- 
verted. He knows that I would rather die than vary 
for a moment from first principles — I mean those 
views of the necessity of the Holy Spirit which I 
5 



66 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



noted down, as the convictions of my heart, after 
reading that sentiment of Dr. Clarke." 

After this mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit, and 
other marked manifestations of God's especial favor, 
this earnest minister of Jesus went to England and 
Ireland, and led twenty thousand souls to Jesus, and 
ten thousand into the enjoyment of entire sanctifi- 
cation. 

" Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God 
Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
saints. Who shall not fear thee, and glorify thy 
name? for thou art holy." Rev. 15 : 34. 

Experience of Bishop Hamline. 

After a very striking conversion, and continued 
religious experience, he became a minister ; and 
still he was not satisfied. He lacked the power 
that he needed to commune with God, or to plead 
with men. He betook himself to more earnest prayer, 
and determined to plead day and night, for months, 
if need be. He expected months of agony to obtain 
this baptism of fire, but he soon felt the softenings 
of the Spirit. Now his heart and tongue were almost 
constantly in prayer. He cried to God for deliver- 
ance from the remains of the carnal mind. He almost 
lived on his knees, and begrudged almost the time 
spent for sleep or meals. The Bible was his text- 
book ; works on holiness were consulted. He soon 
began to feel that he had a baptism to be baptized 



the believer's thivilege. 



67 



with ; that he must be pure, or die. His heart and 
his flesh cried out for the living God. 

Monday morning he arose early, and wrapping 
his cloak around him, continued till breakfast time 
to plead for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Hastily 
partaking of a slight repast, he returned to his cham- 
ber and fell upon his knees. He was led to contem- 
plate "the image of Christ," as the single object of 
desire. The Holy Spirit suggested to him, " Why 
do you not take this image ? " 

All at once he felt as though a hand, not feeble, 
but omnipotent, not of wrath, but of love, was laid 
on his brow. He felt it, not only outwardly, but 
inwardly. It seemed to grasp upon his whole being, 
and to diffuse, all through and through it, a holy., 
sin-consuming energy, under the influence of which 
he fell to the floor, and in the joyful surprise of the 
moment cried out with a loud voice. Still that hand 
of power wrought without and within. For a few 
minutes the deep of God's love swallowed him up, 
and its waves and billows rolled over him. The 
Holy Spirit deluged his soul with floods of salvation. 

Testimony of Rev. Daniel Steele, D. D. 

"At my conversion, thirty years ago, through weak- 
ness of faith, the seal of my justification was im- 
pressed so slightly that the word Abba, my Father, 
was scarcely legible. Yet, in answer to my mother's 
prayers, in my infancy, consecrating, with conscious 
acceptance, her son to the Christian ministry, I was 



G8 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



called to preach with a ? woe unto me,' instead of 
an anointing with the oil. of gladness. I will not 
dwell upon the unpleasantness of a ministry of twenty 
years almost fruitless of conversions through a lack 
of an unction from the Holy One. 

• " My error was in depending on the truth alone to 
break stony hearts. The Holy Spirit, though for- 
mally acknowledged and invoked, was practically ig- 
nored. My personal experience during most of this 
time consisted in 

' Sorrows and sins, and doubts and fears, 
A howling wilderness.' 

" But an Evangelist, Rev. A. B. Earle, with moder- 
ate pulpit talent, but extraordinary power to awaken 
slumbering professors, and to bring sinners to the 
foot of the cross, came across my path. I sought to 
find the hidings of his power, and discovered that it 
was the fullness of the Holy Spirit enjoyed as an 
abiding blessing, styled by him ? rest in Jesus.' I 
was convicted. I sought earnestly the same great 
gift, but could not exercise faith till I had made a 
public confession of my sin in preaching self more 
than Christ, and in being satisfied with the applause 
of the church above the approval of her divine Head. 
J immediately began to feel a strange freedom. I 
was led to seek the constant and joyous presence of 
the Comforter. Having settled the question, that 
this was not merely an apostolic blessing, but for all 
ages, — f He shall abide with you forever,' — I took 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



69 



the promise, r Verily, verily, I say unto you, What- 
soever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he shall 
give it you.' The ' verily ? had to me all the 
strength of an oath, but of the 'whatsoever' I took 
all temporal blessings. Not because I did not be- 
lieve these included, but because I was not then 
seeking them. I then wrote my own name in the 
promise, not to exclude others, but to be sure that I 
included myself. Then writing underneath these 
words, ' To-day is the day of salvation,' I found that 
my faith had three points to master — the Comforter, 
for me, now. Upon the promise I ventured with 
an act of appropriating faith, claiming the Comforter 
as my right, in the name of the Lord Jesus. For 
several hours I clung by naked faith, praying and 
repeating Charles Wesley's hymn, — 

' Jesus, thine all- victorious love 
Shed in my heart abroad,' — 

then ran over in my mind the great facts in 
Christ's life, especially dwelling upon Gethsemane 
and Calvary; his ascension, priesthood, and all- 
atoning sacrifice. Suddenly I became conscious of 
a mysterious power exerting itself upon my sensibil- 
ities. My physical sensations, though not of a 
nervous temperament, in good health, alone and 
calm, were like those of electric sparks passing 
through my bosom with slight but painless shocks, 
melting my hard heart into a fiery stream of love. 
"Christ became so unspeakably precious to me that 



70 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



I instantly dropped all earthly goods — reputation, 
property, friends, family, everything — in the twin- 
kling of an eye. My soul cried out, — 

* None but Christ to me be given, 
None but Christ in earth or heaven.' 

"He stood before me as my Saviour, all radiant in 
his loveliness, f the chief among ten thousand.' Yet 
there was no phantasm or image, or uttered word, 
apprehended by my intellect. The affections were 
the sphere of this wonderful phenomenon, best de- 
scribed as the love of God shed abroad in the heart 
by the Holy Ghost. It seemed as if the attraction 
of Jesus, the loadstone of my soul, was so strong, 
that it would be drawn out of my body, and through 
the college window by which I was sitting. 

M But language is wholly inadequate to express a 
manifestation of Christ which did not formulate 
itself in words, but in the mighty overwhelming pul- 
sations of love. The impulse was irresistible to 
speak of it to everybody, saint or sinner, Protestant 
or Papist, in public or in private. 

" At the time of this writing, seven weeks from the 
first manifestation, the ecstasy has subsided into a 
delicious and unruffled peace, rising into ecstasy only 
in acts of special devotion. I find no fear of man 
nor of death. I can no longer accuse myself of 
unbelief, the root of all sin. What may be in me 
below the gaze of consciousness I do not know ; I 
must wait till occasion puts me to the test. It would 



THE BELIEVERS PRIVILEGE. 



71 



not be wise for me to assert that all sinful anger is 
gone, till I have passed through a college rebellion, 
or something equally provoking. If sin consists only 
in active energies, I am not conscious of such dwell- 
ing in me. If sin consists in a state, as some assert, 
I infer that I am not in such a state, from the 
absence of sinful energies flowing therefrom, and 
more especially from the indwelling of the Holy 
Spirit. 1 have had no other direct witness than that 
attesting Christ's love to me. 

" If I have any advice to give to Christians, it is to 
cease to discuss the subtilties and endless questions 
arising from entire sanctification or Christian perfec- 
tion, and all cry mightily to God for the baptism of 
the Holy Spirit." 

"A Year with the Comforter." 

BY REV. DANIEL STEELE, D. D. 

* If r the greatest debtor to grace may speak first,' 
I arise to testify to the unsearchable riches of Christ, 
and to the f rapturous height of that holy delight ' 
which the abiding Comforter bestows upon me, even 
me. It is a year this blessed 17th of November 
since 

'Down from on high the blessed Dove 

Did come into my breast, 
To witness God's eternal love — 
This is my constant feast.' 

ft Such an anniversary cannot be permitted to pass 



72 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLT GHOST. 



by without the grateful erection of a stone of help, 
a monument of praise to God, 'a spectacle unto 
angels and to men.' So glorious was the visitation 
of the Spirit, and so joyful was my soul while enter- 
taining the Carrier Dove of heaven, bearing the glad 
evangel of Christ's boundless, fathomless love, that 
both tongue and pen were kept busy in spreading the 
ineffable joy. ■ That testimony seems to require 
another, lest any person, from my silence, may sup- 
pose that the fire then kindled has quickly burned 
out, like a basket of shavings, and left me in dark- 
ness. 

" There is another reason why I wish to reappear 
for a moment on Christ's public witness-stand. The 
f new departure ' which the doctrine of full salvation 
has recently taken, is remarkable for the prominence 
which it gives to testimony, to the exclusion of spec- 
ulative theories. The movement so providentially 
and powerfully begun, will lose its momentum just 
in proportion as it becomes disputatious, and substi- 
tutes wran^linCT for witnessing. 

DO o 

" Never before were there so many believers, of 
every denomination, honestly and earnestly calling 
for light on the subject of the higher life. There- 
fore, let every one who has a heaven-lit torch, now 
lift it high, and keep it aloft, that all may see the 
light and rejoice therein. 'Blessed be God, even 
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of 
mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comfort- 
eth us in all tribulation, that we may be able to comfort 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



73 



them which are in any trouble, by the comfort where- 
with we ourselves are comforted of God.' Let there 
be laid before the church, especially before souls 
panting after f all the fullness of God,' the exact tran- 
script of each Christian consciousness under the 
illumination of the Holy Ghost, so far as language 
can be a vehicle of that which f passeth knowledge,' 
and not only will souls in trouble be comforted, but 
there will be accumulated a mass of facts, out of 
which some analytic mind, some theological Sir Wil- 
liam Hamilton, may do what all systemizers have 
. hitherto failed to do — construct out of the Bible and 
experience a consistent and symmetrical science of 
Christian perfection. 

"When preconceived theories modify testimony, 
its value is proportionally diminished. This serious 
defect inheres in the statements of many, who, under 
a dogmatic bias, have unconsciously shaped their ex- 
pressions to suit the demands of a supposed orthodox 
ideal. I suppose' that it is not possible for me to 
divest myself entirely of the influence of opinions, 
and to detail in unmixed purity the changes which 
the transforming Spirit has wrought in my conscious- 
ness. Of this the reader may be assured, that as a 
witness on a most important question I will endeavor 
to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but 
the truth. Let him who values his hobby or his 
theories more than the truth, not expect me to color 
my statements to suit the complexion of his opin- 
ions. 



74 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



"In some important particulars my experience 
contradicts my own lifelong beliefs. Sharply de- 
fined transitions after regeneration, sudderi uplifts 
in the divine life, had been excluded from ray creed 
as unphilosophical and unnecessary. I had never, 
though I had read such things in Christian biography, 
really believed it possible for a soul to tabernacle on 
. earth a whole year without a cloud, or a doubt, or a 
temptation, other than an occasional momentary 
thrust of the adversary, easily parried with the shield 
of faith. Twelve months ago I should have received 
with utter incredulity the statement that any one 
could utter, mentally or orally, a doxology to Jesus 
three hundred and sixty-five days long, with no in- 
termission save that of sleep, and that balmy sleep 
itself would often flee from the presence of a sweeter 
delight, the luxury of praise. I find my mistake 
corrected, that the witness of the Spirit, in its higher 
manifestations, is intermittent. The reverse is true. 
It is intermittent in its lower manifestations ; in its 
highest it is constant. All the philosophies I find 
at fault in the assertion that the human mind 
cannot endure the strain of high joy for a long pe- 
riod ; and that the more intense, the more evanescent 
it is. 

f "It was quite against my doctrinal training and 
belief, that a soul in probation could before death be 
assured of eternal salvation. Yet the conviction 
that Jesus and my sonl will never be separated, has 
been with me for twelve months a certainty, exclud- 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



75 



ing all doubt as absolutely as the intuition of ray 
personal existence. It does not take the form of a 
cannot, which involves necessity, but of a will not, 
which involves subjective certainty. Again and 
again have I endeavored to resolve this conviction 
into an inference of the discursive faculty, but have 
always failed. It cannot be interpreted as a high 
probability, amounting to a practical certainty, that 

I, having been steadfast under a darker dispensation, 
will most assuredly continue to be faithful under the 
glorious dispensation of the Spirit ; for no proba- 
bility of this kind would exclude the possibility of 
doubt. 

"I have warned the reader that it is not my pur- 
pose to adjust my experience to any system of theol- 
ogy. But if any person wishes to adjust it to 
Arminianism, he may find assistance in Wesley's 
f Plain Account of Christian Perfection,' page 122 — 
the book second only to the Bible in regard to the 
higher life — and also in Fletcher's f Checks,' Vol. 

II. page 659, note. 

" Let no one accuse me of preaching that this as- 
surance is attainable by all, for I preach no such 
thing. This is called by Wesley the full assurance 
of hope, the privilege of c 'but very few,' as distin- 
guished from the full assurance of faith. The 
first embraces future, and the second present salva- 
tion. (See Tyerman's Life of J. Wesley, Vol. II. 
page 491.) God has reserved to Himself the pre- 
rogative of doing c exceeding abundantly above all 



76 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



that we ask or think,' in the distribution of his 
special gifts. If, out of the abundance of his grace, 
he condescends to assure his child of his future 
obedience, and its glorious reward, who are we, 
that we should demur at such a gracious bestow- 
ment ? 

" I have been catechized respecting the mental 
state, or act, immediately previous to the coming of 
the Comforter, whether there was a specific act of 
faith. I reply, that my soul had been for three 
weeks the furnace of intense desire, and it had been 
during that period in the attitude of trust. I was, at 
the moment preceding the great blessing, renewing 
Christ's earthly life, and noting the grounds of faith 
which it affords, as I had often done before. I did not 
at that time put forth a distinct and specific energy of 
faith differing from that attitude of voluntary trust, 
in which I had been for several days. 

ff 1 am convinced that a hungry, longing, earnest 
soul, in the general attitude of trust, may be sur- 
prised, as I myself was, by the sudden unction of 
the Holy One. At no time did I believe that I re- 
ceived the desired blessing, till I knew that it was 
mine. Christ alone was the object of my trust, and 
not any act of my own mind, such as ' I believe that I 
now receive.' I did for several days, either orally 
or mentally, assert that Christ is true, and that he 
is now offering the very boon which I crave. I 
could not believe that the Comforter had taken up 
his blissful abode in my heart before he had re- 



THE BELIEVER'S PEIVILEGE. 



77 



ported himself to my consciousness. Over and over 
again did I pray the hymn, — 

' Jesus, thine all- victorious love.' 

"Pausing at the epithet, f all-victorious,' I begged 
the mighty Saviour to conquer me wholly, and thor- 
oughly reconstruct me from top to bottom, from 
centre to circumference, and to leave not one dis- 
guised rebel lurking within. That prayer was gra- 
ciously heard. So thorough was the conquest, that 
not one masked Ku Klux has come forth from his 
hiding-place to torment my loyal soul, and to render 
a second war of extermination necessary. To be 
sure, I have not been tested by passing through a 
college rebellion, as I cautiously intimated a year 
ago, and I begin to think that I never shall pass 
through this ordeal, if the Comforter dwells in the 
hearts of us professors. For there is always more 
or less pride at the bottom of both parties to every 
war. 

" A year ago I said that I did not know what was 
below the gaze of my consciousness. I still say the 
same, adding the testimony that the varied changes 
and perplexities through which I have since passed, 
have failed to reveal any proof that Jesus is not 
king over the domain of my unconscious, as he is 
over my conscious self. I have been questioned 
respecting my religious state, previous to the di- 
vine anointing, by persons interested in confirming 
the theory that I had then for the first time experi- 



78 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



enced the joys of pardoned sin. To them I reply 
as in the sermon referred to, that I believe myself 
to have been in the pre-pentecostal state. It is ob- 
jected that this is impossible eighteen hundred years 
after the effusion of the Holy Ghost. Perhaps those 
who doubt my testimony will accept that of so emi- 
nent a theologian and deeply experienced a Chris- 
tian as the r seraphic Fletcher.' He says, Vol. III. 
page 171, f Converted sinners, or believers, are 
either under the dispensation of the Father, under 
that of the Son, or under that of the Holy Ghost, 
according to the different progress they have made 
in spiritual things. Under the dispensation of the 
Father, believers constantly experience (present 
tense) the fear of God, and in general, a much 
greater degree of fear than love. Under the econo- 
my of the Son, love begins to gain the ascendency over 
fear. But under the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, 
perfect love casteth out fear.' 

"This quotation abundantly justifies the assertion 
that I was in the pre-penteco^al state of Christian 
experience. I believe that I dwelt a long time in 
the dispensation of the Father, a shorter period in 
that of the Son, and that, now at length, by the grace 
of God, I have entered that of the Holy Ghost. In 
the first, I enjoyed the first element of the kingdom, 
righteousness, or justification — dihaiosune — the 
act of the Father ; in the second, peace, the leg- 
acy of the risen Jesus ; and in the third, joy, the 
endowment of the Holy Ghost. To those who 



THE BELIEVER'S PKIVILEGE. 



79 



object to this assignment of distinct blessings to the 
Persons of the Trinity, we would quote the apostoli- 
cal benediction, where the same distinction is made, 
the communion of the Holy Spirit always being the 
climax- 

* Thus much theorizing seems necessary to make 
good my assertion respecting my previous experience. 
A more practical question some soul propounds to 
me — f How to keep the blessed Comforter ? ' He 
will keep himself, and you, too, if you will let him. 
He is not so capricious as many imagine. He is in 
no haste to leave any bosom, after so long an en- 
deavor to get an iuvitation to enter it. Nothing but 
sin can dislodge him. The soul which holds him 
by faith will be upheld by him. That beautiful de- 
vice, a hand grasping the cross, with the motto,- 
* Teneo et Teneor, — f I hold, and I am held,' — 
expresses it all. Every day, yea, almost every hour, 
I find myself repeating the couplet, — 

4 Thy grace can full assistance lend, 
And on that grace I dare depend.' 

w The unwise query has been raised, why I write 
my sermons, if I am conscious of the indwelling of 
the Holy Spirit, the fountain of spiritual light. 
There is a vast difference between the grace and the 
charisma, the theopneustic gift of the Spirit, con- 
ferred on the soul for the purpose of making it the 
organ or medium of revelation to the human race. 
The grace of the Spirit, while it floods the soul with 



80 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHCST 



light on its personal relations to God, communicates 
no dogmatic truth. Though it assists in the study and 
application of revealed truth, it does not modify the 
intellectual faculties, any more than it changes the 
manual dexterities of the craftsman. Hence the 
Holy Spirit affords no dispensation from hard work. 
He is not bestowed as a premium to laziness. The 
preacher will yet be under the necessity of labori- 
ously preparing the beaten oil for the sanctuary. 
But he will find his toil wonderfully alleviated by 
the removal of every antagonism within himself, and 
by the sweet delight of the labor of love. Often 
with his Master he will exclaim, f It is more than my 
meat and drink to do my heavenly Father's will.' 

"Let me say, in conclusion, that my spiritual life 
is no longer like a leaky suction pump, half the 
time dry, and affording scanty water only by desper- 
ate turner at the handle ; but it is like an artesian 
well of water, ' springing up unto everlasting life.' 

' The fountain of delight unknown 

No longer sinks beneath the brim, 
But overflows and pours me down, 
A living and life-giving spring.' 

"The Scriptures are sweeter than honey. Prayer 
and praise are a delight, the closet with the door 
closed is paradise regained, the glory of Christ has 
become the all-absorbing passion of my soul. Never 
before could I appreciate the paradox of Pascal — 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



81 



The things of this world must be known in order to 
be loved, but Jesus must be loved in order to be 
known.' My only apology for the use of the pro- 
noun in the first person singular, instead of the im- 
personal and editorial zve, is, that I have been relat- 
ing my experience. 

' Glory to God the Father be, 
Glory to God the Son, 
Glory to God the Holy Ghost, 
Glory to God alone. 

1 1 need not go abroad for joy 

Who have a feast at home ; 
My sighs are turned into songs ; 

The Comforter is come.' " 




CHAPTER VII. 



TESTIMONIES, CONTINUED. 

REV. J. B. TAYLOR. 

Y desire was," says Mr. Taylor, "that the 
Lord would visit me, and baptize me with 
the Holy Ghost. My cry was, f Seal my 
soul forever thine.' I lifted up my heart in prayer, 
that the blessing mi^ht descend. I felt I needed some- 
thing that I did not possess. There was a void 
within, one that must be filled, or I could not be 
happy. My desire was, that all the love of the 
world might be destroyed, all selfishness, pride, un- 
belief, everything opposed to the divine nature cru- 
cified ; that * Holiness to the Lord ,' might be en- 
graven upon my heart. I am to be hereafter a 
minister of the gospel. But how shall I preach in 
my present state of mind? I cannot; never, no, 
never. Shall I be able to do it with profit ? 

"I was most delightfully conscious of giving up all 
to God. I was enabled to say, f Here I am, Lord ; 
take me, take my whole soul, and seal me thine, thine 

82 




THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



83 



now and foreveraiore thine. If thou wilt, thou canst 
make me clean.' Then there ensued such emotions 
as I never before experienced ; all was calm and 
tranquil, and a solemn heaven of love possessed my 
whole soul. Shortly I was dissolved in tears of 
love and gratitude to our blessed Saviour. The 
name of Jesus was more precious to me. He came 
as King and took full possession of my soul; I was 
crucified with Christ. 

rf People may call it what they please — ' faith of 
assurance,' c holiness,' 'perfect love,' or 'entire sancti- 
fication ; ' it makes no difference to me. It contains a 
blessed reality ; and thanks to my Heavenly Father, it 
is my privilege to enjoy, and it is the privilege of all." 

Dr. Levy, of the Baptist Church, Philadelphia. 

It was my great privilege to hear this dear man 
testify at the Round Lake National Camp Meeting, 
that his soul was distressed for this baptism ; that 
he went into the Sabbath school, and saw his young 
people, and his ow r n children among them, and yet 
he had no power to lead them to Christ ; and he 
returned to his closet, threw himself upon the floor, 
and cried out before God. He went to the Meth- 
odist meetings, and heard them testify, that they 
were fully sanctified ; and he knew that it was just 
this blessing that his poor soul needed. At length 
he and his people consented to have the Rev. Mr. 
Purdy, Methodist Evangelist, come to his church 
and hold meetings. 



84 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Mr. Purely, the first thing, examined and read 
their creed and baptismal covenant, and told them 
they believed in this higher Christian life ; that it 
was plainly printed in their books, but they had 
failed to secure it in their hearts. "This," said the 
doctor, "was stealing our guns and then turning 
them upon us, like a master-general, and so he took 
as prisoners." As the meetings went on, there was 
a mighty conflict in Bro. Levy's heart. How could 
he go forward for prayers at his own altar, and 
before his own people? This was an awful cross, 
and it seemed as though he could not take it up ; 
but, at length, he went forward and bowed down at 
the penitent's place, and was so much in earnest for 
himself, that he almost forgot everybody else ; and 
when the church saw their pastor come, they rushed 
forward also ; and God baptized pastor and people 
right there. 

This was the dawn of a glorious day in the doctor's 
experience, and he has steadily testified to the same, 
and waxed stronger and stronger ever since. He is 
a clear and powerful witness cf this baptism of the 
Holy Ghost. 

Mr. Carpenter, of Newark, N. J. 

Thirty or forty years ago, this dear man ex- 
changed earth for heaven. At his funeral, it was 
stated, that this layman, of a limited common- school 
education, was simple and sometimes ungram- 
matical in his conversation and public addresses, 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



85 



yet it was fully believed that, as the result of the 
mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost, this dear man 
had been directly the instrument of leading ten 
thousand souls to God. Yet, prior to the time 
of this baptism, he only had "a name to live" 
in the church ; as soon as this anointing came upon 
him, "as a prince, he had power with God and with 
man." 

While riding on a stage from Newark to New 
York, Mr. Carpenter, with a Christian associate, 
found seven unconverted persons in the stage, who 
were at that time, or soon after, converted, as the 
result of this personal effort in that short ride. 

He testified to an intimate friend just before he 
died, that for ten years he had walked continuously 
under the cloudless light of the Sun of Righteous- 
ness. Glory ! Glory to God ! This dear man de- 
clared that he believed, ere long, this would be the 
leading theme in the churches. 

An Aged Minister. 

Dr. Mahan tells us of a ruling elder in the 
church, who set his whole powers to work to seek 
for the anointing of the Holy Ghost; who prayed, 
day and night, until he was endued with power from 
on high, till one day he entered his closet, then 
and there to receive the Holy Ghost. In a little 
while he seemed to be sinking into the infinite depths 
of the bosom of God. The waters of life began to 
rise and overflow his heart, and to the full extent of 



8G 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



his capabilities he was filled with the fullness of God. 
The glory, the love of Christ, and the infinite riches 
of his grace, now occupied his whole being. He took 
out a license to preach, and in a few years he was 
able to lead more than one thousand souls to Jesus. 

Testimony of Rev. A. B. Earle. 
"About ten years ago I began to feel an inex- 
pressible hungering and longing for the fullness of 
Christ's love. I fully believed that I then belonged to 
Christ, but had long felt an inward unrest, a void in 
my soul. 

"Many anxious Christians came to mc, and com- 
plained of the same thing. How could 1 help them, 
when I knew not how to get right myself? I took the 
7th chapter of Romans, and there left them, saying, 
f O, wretciied man that I am, who shall deliver me 
from the body of this death?' I was -there myself, 
and supposed that I must live and die there. In 
this state I was exposed to strong temptations of the 
enemy ; I made strong resolutions that I would be 
faithful, but could not keep them. God gave me 
success in winning souls, and granted me many hours 
of sweet communion. 

"I often read those precious words, 1 If ye abide 
in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what 
ye will, and it shall be done unto you.' I longed 
and prayed to be there, but knew not the way. O 
that some one had then taught me the way of rest 
in Jesus ! 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



87 



w At last I felt that the question for me to settle 
was, Can an imperfect Christian sweetly and con- 
stantly rest in a perfect Saviour, without condemna- 
tion? At length I became satisfied that Christ had 
made provision for me, and all his children, to abide 
in the fullness of his love, without one moment's in- 
terruption. 

Having settled this, I said, r I need this ; I long 
for it ; I cannot truly represent religion without it ; 
and Christ is dishonored by me every day I live 
without it. I therefore resolved to obtain it at any 
sacrifice, little realizing how unlike Christ I then 
was, or how much would be needed to bring me 
there. I procured a book, and wrote in it the fol- 
io win £ dedication : — 

" f This day I make a new consecration of my all to 
Christ. Jesus, I now and forever give myself 
to thee ; my soul to be washed in thy blood, and 
saved in heaven at last ; my whole body to be used 
for thy glory ; my mouth to speak for thee at all 
times ; my eyes to weep over lost sinners, or to be 
used for any purpose for thy glory ; my feet to carry 
me where thou shalt wish me to go ; my heart to be 
burdened for souls, or used for thee anywhere; my 
intellect to be employed at all times for thy cause 
and glory. I give to thee my wife, my children, 
my property, all I have, and all that ever shall be 
mine. I will obey thee in every known duty. 

'A. B. E.' 



88 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



" I then asked for grace to enable me to carry out 
that vow, and that I might not take anything from 
the altar. I supposed with this consecration, entire 
as far as knowledge went, I should soon receive all 
that my longing heart could contain ; but in that I 
was sadly mistaken. I think I then came nearer to 
Christ ; but as clearer light began to shine in my 
heart, I saw more of its vileness. I never had my 
heart so searched before. I detected pride, envy, 
self-will, a great deal of unbelief, my love to the 
Saviour to be very weak. O, can a worm so vile 
as I be made like Christ ? I know it is possible ; 
and if I am ever to be made like Christ, why not 
now? I am where I can do good in leading others 
to Christ. 

"At times my joy and peace were almost un- 
bounded. Sometimes I felt that I grasped the prize 
so earnestly sought. One sin that troubled me most, 
and was the hardest to overcome, was a strong will, 
a desire, and almost a determination to have my own 
way ; and thus, even in regard to little things, or any. 
little injury or supposed wrong, to speak without re- 
flection, and sometimes severely, even to those that I 
knew were my friends ; to say, *I will do this,' and 
f I will not do that.' 

''This, I clearly saw, must be overcome if 1 would 
become a consistent and useful Christian. As I 
could not do it myself, I gave it over to Jesus ; he 
could give me grace to overcome even this ; but I 
found I gave nothing into the hands of Jesus except 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



89 



by a simple faith. My faith was very deficient and 
weak ; to believe the promises fully was not so easy. 
Yet I found my faith growing stronger, until at last 
I came to believe just what God has said in his 
Word. 

" After re-dedicating myself to God, I was in my 
room alone, pleading for the fullness of Christ's love, 
when, all at once, a sweet, heavenly peace filled all 
the vacuum in my soul. I felt, I knew, I was ac- 
cepted fully of Jesus. • A calm, simple, childlike 
trust took possession of my whole being. I felt that 
if 1 had a thousand hearts and lives, I would give 
them all to the Saviour. 

"I had that rest that is more than peace. That 
night I retired to rest without one fear, — much like 
a tired babe resting in its mother's arms. I seemed 
in anew world ; Host, all at once, a burden of care 
and anxiety ; I found that much of my care had not 
only been useless, but a hinderance to my success in 
the cause of Christ, making my work much harder, 
and less pleasant to myself. The Bible seemed like a 
new book. This blessed experience was given No- 
vember 2, 1843 ; and, although I was never so weak 
and small, yet Jesus has been my all since then ; there 
has not been one hour of conscious doubt or dark- 
ness." 



90 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



Testimony of Dr. T. C. Upham. 

Which he calls "My personal pentecost." It 
relates to a wonderful night of grace, which had a 
mighty influence on his life, character, experience, 
and literary labors, and his whole church has been 
baptized by this experience. He says, — 

" When I retired to rest, my mind was much occu- 
pied with the subject of personal holiness, which, for 
some months, had been exceedingly precious to me, 
and in connection with which I had been spiritually 
benefited in a high degree. I consecrated myself 
anew to God, and felt that I w T as his. In the night 
(at what time of the night I do not know) I awoke 
suddenly, and felt a distinct, peculiar, and somewhat 
powerful sensation, which I cannot better express 
than by calling it the breath of the Holy Spirit, pass 
rapidly through my system. It seemed to be a dis- 
tinct agent, but had the tenuity, the quick and elec- 
tric movement, and refining power of a purely spir- 
itual being. The thought occurred to me, that it 
might be from natural causes ; and as I was fatigued, 
I again fell asleep. Again in the night I awoke 
suddenly, and experienced precisely the same sensa- 
tion, only in a somewhat increased degree. Then I 
knew that the Lord was round my pillow. I was 
deeply serious, and filled with reverential awe, but 
entirely calm. I thought of rising from my bed, and 
engaging in acts of worship, but I knew not what to 
pray for ; and it seemed best that I should wait the 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



91 



rnovements of the Lord. Indeed, I found my nat- 
r ral strength, in some considerable degree, taken 
from me. I realized my entire nothingness in the 
sight of God, and how easy it would be for him to 
separate the soul from the body without a moment's 
warning. I had a distinct suggestion, and almost a 
fear, that this might be the immediate result of the 
spiritual operations which were passing upon me. 
My mind was now directed upward to Him who has 
the hearts of all men, to see what this would mean. 
And then I seemed to see far upward, as it were 
somewhere in the -heavenly region, these memorable 
words, written distinctly and brightly, 'Thou art 
my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' 

"As I had long desired, although, as stated in an- 
other place, with much weakness and perplexity, 
and others had desired for me, that I might have a 
more distinct witness of the Spirit, in connection 
with the realization of a sanctified life, I could not 
well help applying them to myself. It seemed wrong 
not to do it ; so much so, that I had no alternative. 
It is true, that doubts and fears sus^ested them- 
selves, as they naturally would, because the same 
words, or nearly the same, had been applied to 
Christ, while here on earth. But still, taken in con- 
nection with what had passed between my soul and 
God at former times, I was unable to reject them, 
but, on the contrary, received them in faith, and 
with gratitude ; and the more especially because 
my mind had been exercised for some time on the 



92 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



subject of adoption. I had felt for some time that 
God was my Father ; that I had received a place in 
his redeemed family, and that I was united with 
Christ, and through Christ with God. I clung 
strongly to my sonship ; it seemed to be a vital 
principle, a sort of life to the soul. And it seemed 
to me, if I could really doubt of being a child of 
God, my distress would be such that I could not 
exist. And it further seemed to me that the di- 
vine announcement, which was given me, was in ac- 
cordance with the saying of Scripture, ? Be it unto 
thee according to thy faith.' I was equally delighted 
with the epithet 5 Beloved.' 

" To be called a son of God is a great thing ; but 
to be called a beloved son is inexpressibly delightful. 
It would not meet my state of mind to be called a 
child of God, without feeling, also, that I was in 
Christ a beloved child. It is, perhaps, proper for 
me to consider, although I have «Teat reason to bless 
God that he has recently given me so much of the 
Saviour's image, that the expression, 'in whom I 
am well pleased,' is strictly and fully applicable 
only from the moment when presented to me. 
From that important moment I feel called, in 
an especial manner, to bear the full image of 
Christ. These memorable words, f Thou art my be- 
loved son, in whom I am well pleased,' are given to 
me, to be engraved upon my heart, to be written 
upon my hands, to be borne with me as a secret and 
precious name. I must, therefore, hide myself in 



THE BELIEVERS PRIVILEGE. 



93 



Christ; in (he most solemn and abiding sense, be- 
ing one with him, and thus one with God. 

" In connection with these statements, there are 
one or two other points of which I may properly 
and gratefully make a brief record. Ever since my 
attention has been called to the subject of personal 
holiness, I have felt a strong desire to realize in my- 
self the meaning of those passages in the latter part 
of St. John's Gospel, which speak of union with 
Christ, of being united to him as the branch is 
united to the vine, &c. I was entirely satisfied 
that there was a form of mental experience, indicated 
in these passages, of which I had been previously 
ignorant. In answer to my many prayers on this 
subject, I found my soul, after a few weeks, gradually 
but sweetly and surely entering into this union ; and 
I now find my spiritual existence so deeply grafted 
into Christ, that I feel a high degree of assurance 
that there will hereafter be no separation." 



AN APPENDIX. 



THE THREE DISPENSATIONS. 



HE following pages are so clear and com- 
prehensive that I preferred to put them 
all together for the benefit of the reader. 
They are well worthy of consideration, and of the 
author thereof. 

In John Fletcher's portrait of St. Paul as a model 
evangelical preacher, he very emphatically insists 
upon a thorough knowledge of the three great eras 
of spiritual life. These he denominates the dispen- 
sation of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. He who is unacquainted with the peculiari- 
ties of experience under these different dispensations 
cannot successfully apply gospel truth, and give full 
proof of his ministry. For these dispensations, 
though in the order of development they were suc- 
cessive, are now co-existent. Of those accepted of 
God, now dwelling on the earth, some are in the dis- 
pensation of the Father, some in that of the Son, 
and others in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. 

94 




THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



95 



The first are characterized by the fear of God — 
servile fear, with little love. This fear influences 
conduct and shapes character. They fear God and* 
work righteousness. They are kept from sinning, 
and are incited to purity and well-doing. They have 
no joy of the Holy Ghost, but only that which flows 
in the channels of nature — the approval of conscience 
for their right actions. Not having God's love shed 
abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit, they are 
in doubt of their acceptance with God, and are often 
distressed when the written or unwritten law thun- 
ders its threatenings in their ears, " though visited at 
times with a few scattered rays of hope." They 
exist in all lands, but chiefly in non-evangelical 
countries, papal, pagan, and Mohammedan. Now 
and then an honest deist, a devout Unitarian, with 
the head warped by early implanted error, but a sin- 
cere heart, may be found amid the full blaze of gos- 
pel truth, still serving God in the same dispensation 
with uncircumcised Abram in Mesopotamia. In this 
view we find ground for charity towards the less 
enlightened subjects of God's kingdom, and strong 
motives for the abatement of bigotry. We learn to 
deal tenderly with these Cornelian souls, whose 
prayers and alms go up for a memorial before God. 
We approach them not with denunciations, but with 
invitations, while we magnify Christ, and, from our 
own experience, assure them of the exceeding great- 
ness of his power to us-ward who believe. By indis- 
criminately lumping them together with avowed athe- 



96 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



ists and wilful sinners, the incautious preacher gives 
them needless offence," and hedges up the path of 
advanced truth into their minds. In Christian lands 
these worshippers of the Father must be distinguished 
from those who reject the Son because of the strict- 
ness of his requirements, the inflexible terms of 
discipleship, and the spiritual interpretation of the 
moral law planting a thorn-hedge across the path of 
even the sinful thought, and kindling a fire in the 
house of their idols. Such are wickedly rejecting 
Jesus Christ, and are to be addressed as sinners, 
whether they assume the name of evangelicals, Uni- 
versalists, Socinians, or radical religionists. "These 
go on, without any symptom of fear, towards the gulf 
of perdition ; whether it be by the high road of vice, 
with the notoriously abandoned, or through the by- 
path of hypocrisy, with pharisaical professors." 

f ' Under the dispensation of the Son, the doubts of 
believers are dissipated, like those of the two disciples 
who journeyed to Emmaus, while they discover more 
clearly, and experience more powerfully, the truths 
of the gospel." Still they know Christ after the 
flesh. They are not fully impressed with his divin- 
ity. The robe of humanity has not been made trans- 
parent for the dazzling radiance of the Godhead to 
shine through. Jesus is not yet glorified to their 
hearts, because the Spirit, the Glorifier, has not 
taken up his abode in them. Hence they are but 
children ; their strength is small ; they are weak and 
unsteady. They have not full assurance. After 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 97 

brief periods of joyful trust, doubts return to shake 
their confidence. Yet they testify of their love to 
God gaining ascendency over fear. They no longer 
utter the sad exclamation at the end of the seventh 
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, " O, wretched 
man that I am ! " With a grateful heart and stream- 
ing eyes, in view of their deliverance, they exult, w I 
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Joyful 
as is their state of freedom when contrasted with 
the bondage to fear under which they once groaned, 
they are conscious of an inward vacuity and long- 
ing for some object not at first clearly defined. The 
study of the words of Jesus discloses to them the 
living water promised by Jesus in the last great day 
of the feast. "But this he spake of the Spirit, which 
they that believe on him should receive ; for the 
Holy Ghost was not yet given." " And I will pray 
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, 
that he may abide with you forever." After the 
object of their desire has been pointed out to them, 
they begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
after the Holy Spirit, who is the author of all inward 
purity. Then they emerge into the " kingdom of the 
Holy Ghost," as Fletcher styles it. They are filled 
with the Spirit. They now walk in the light con- 
stantly, are consciously cleansed from all sin, and 
have joy unspeakable. The Spirit of adoption, for- 
merly indirect and intermittent, has now become the 
abiding Comforter, and to his direct assurance of 
Sonship he adds that of entire sanctification and the 
7 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



fullness of Christ's love, "that we may know the 
things freely given to us of God." (1 Cor. 2 : 12.) 
Fear, which had a painful predominance in the dis- 
pensation of the Father, and shadowed the bright- 
ness of the Sun of Righteousness in the dispensation 
of Jesus Christ, is now completely banished. No 
tormenting emotion can abide the presence of the 
Comforter. 

The scriptural proofs of these dispensations are 
abundant. Listen to Peter, preaching to Cornelius 
and his staff of officers. " God is no respecter of 
persons ; but in every nation he that feareth God and 
worketh righteousness is accepted of him." 

From the summit of Mars' Hill, the Athenian, 
passing through the Agora, hears an earnest voice 
proclaiming to the high caste Autochthones a truth 
humiliating to their pride of race — " God hath 
made of one blood all nations of men, and hath ap- 
pointed the bounds of their habitation, that they 
should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after 
him and find him, though he be not far from every 
one of us." The publicans, Roman officials, asked of 
John, "What shall we do?" He, seeing that they 
had no preparation for the dispensation of the 'Son, 
and that all that they could then appreciate was the ob- 
ligation of the moral law, answered, "Exact no more 
than is appointed to you." A band of Roman sol- 
diers, utterly ignorant of the prophecies relating to 
Christ, approach the same great preacher, and de- 
mand, " What shall we do? " John, aiming to make 



the believer's privilege. 



99 



them perfect in the dispensation of Gentilism, which 
consists in doing right so far as known, immediately 
replies, "Do violence to no man, neither accuse 
falsely, and be content with your wages." But 
when John's audience is made up of Jews, he preaches 
always from one text of Isaiah's prophetic evangel, 
"Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Here is the 
dispensation of the Son — " One cometh after me 
whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose." Glori- 
ous foregl earns of the ministration of the Spirit also 
burst upon John's vision; and he exclaims, " He 
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with 
fire." 

The official presence and manifest work of the 
Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers after Jesus was 
glorified, as totally distinct from his essential pres- 
ence and secret work in the hearts of just pagans 
and Jews under the drawings of the Father or the 
teachings of the Son, is most conclusively announced 
by Peter on the day of pentecost. "Jesus, being by 
the right hand of God exalted, and having received 
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, hath 
shed forth this plenitude of grace, the effects of 
whicfi ye now see and hear." Since these Jerusalem 
sinners had insulted the person of Jesus, the genu- 
ineness of their repentance must now be tested by 
public baptism in his hated name, before they could 
be assured of pardon — a test never required of pen- 
itent sinners afterwards. " Be baptized, every one of 
you, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 



100 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



the Holy Ghost." Thus these souls were led rapidly 
through the dispensation of the Son to that of the 
Spirit. The ministry of Jesus was very brief, pos- 
sibly typifying the short interval in the scheme of 
salvation between the drawings of the Father unto 
Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon 
the young believer in Jesus. Thus the compassion- 
ate Father draws the willing soul to the redeeming 
Son, who passes it over to the quickening and puri- 
fying energies of the blessed Sanctifier. The second 
dispensation was evidently designed to be a transition- 
point only, and not a stage in the spiritual develop- 
ment. But contrary to the divine purpose, multi- 
tudes linger all their lives at this point, instead of 
passing on to the higher and richer experience of the 
fullness of the Spirit. While other multitudes are 
so " slow of heart to believe," that they linger for 
years and decades in that inferior dispensation of the 
law, the child-leader, before their tardy feet tread 
the threshold of the Great Teacher. To quote all the 
scriptures descriptive of the distinct office and work 
of the third person of the Trinity, would be impos- 
sible in this article. Let these suffice : " Your body 
is the temple of the Holy Ghost." " Grieve not the 
Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the 
day of redemption." " Be filled with the Spirit ; 
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs, making melody in your hearts unto 
the Lord." " Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceas- 
ing. In everything give thanks." 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



101 



Says Mr. Fletcher, " Without an experimental 
knowledge of these several states, a minister can no 
more lead sinners to evangelical perfection, than an 
illiterate peasant can communicate sufficient intelli- 
gence to his rustic companions to pass an examina- 
tion for the highest degree in a university." " As 
the prudent physician proportions his medicines to 
the different ages and habits of his patients, so the 
enlightened pastor, who feels himself concerned for 
the spiritual health of his flock, sees it necessary to 
act with equal care and discretion. He preaches the 
dispensation of the Son to those who, like Socrates 
and Plato, are longing for a divine instructor. He 
lends them either from the law of Moses, or from 
the law of nature, to the gospel of Christ. Lastly, 
to such as have devoutly embraced this part of the 
gospel, he publishes the glorious economy of the 
Holy Spirit, which was not- fully opened till after 
the bodily appearance of the Redeemer was with- 
drawn from the world." 

It must be borne in mind that the Son and Spirit 
have always been occupied in secretly influencing 
the hearts of men. But there was a time when the 
Son became manifest, making a visible exhibition of 
his wonderful works. Also, at a certain point in 
the world's history, the Holy Ghost began to work 
in a more sensible manner in the consciousness of be- 
lievers. The mysterious triune personality of God was 
disclosed to our faith, because the advanced stages of 
spiritual development under the Son and the Spirit 



102 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



could not be realized except through faith in the dis- 
tinct offices of these persons. To keep these in the 
faith of the church in all ages, the names -of the three 
stand in the formula of baptism, and distinct bless- 
ings are ascribed to each in the apostolic benedic- 
tion. It may be objected that this view of the suc- 
cessive gradations of privilege under the three persons 
of the Godhead has a tendency to degrade the Father 
before the brighter glories of the Son's kingdom, and 
to belittle the Son in the ministration of the Spirit. 
But a little examination of experience, church his- 
tory, and the Scriptures, will obviate this objection. 
They who are brought to the cross of Christ testify 
to a new and profound appreciation of the work of 
the Father ; while all who enter into the dispensa- 
tion of the Spirit bear witness that Christ is, in an 
astonishing manner, exalted in their estimation. In 
all ages of the church we look for the highest spirit- 
uality and purity, and the most devout reverence to- 
wards the Father, where Jesus has been exalted, and 
the most ardent love to Christ where this item of 
the creed has been emphasized and explained — "I 
believe in the Holy Ghost." Turning to the Scrip- 
tures, we find that the highest honor accruing to the 
Father is when men honor his Son. "To him shall 
every knee bow, to the glory of God the Father." 
But Jesus is not fully known till the Spirit shows 
him to our hearts, and glorifies him. JSTo man can 
call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Thus each 
brightening dispensation reflects honor upon the 



THE BELIEVERS PRIVILEGE. 



103 



Divine Person of the preceding, demonstrating that 
the Divine Persons are not independent and rival 
deities, but one in nature and essence, whose differ- 
ent perfections are more clearly manifested to a 
world of sinners by this threefold development. 

The superiority of the ministrations of the Spirit, 
and its immeasurable wealth of privilege when con- 
trasted with the dispensation of the Son of God in 
his bodily presence, is expressed by Jesus when he 
asserts, that among them that are born of women, 
there hath not arisen a greater than John the Bap- 
tist. Here the wilderness preacher is lifted to a 
pedestal higher than that of David the king, Moses 
the lawgiver, or Abraham the founder of the He- 
brew nation. Yet he that is least in the kingdom 
of heaven is greater than he. We are to understand 
the kingdom of heaven as St. Paul expounds it, con- 
sisting of righteousness, .peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost. It did not consist in seeing the incarnate 
Lord, for John saw him ; nor in gazing on his mi- 
raculous works, and listening to his divine utter- 
ances, as did many unbelieving Jews ; nor in being 
numbered among his disciples, as were many who 
went away and walked no more with him ; nor in 
being enrolled among the twelve apostles, as was 
Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Jesus must have 
referred to that fullness of spiritual grace and power 
brought in on the day of pentecost, to be the perma- 
nent inheritance of all who fully believe the promise 
of the Father. Every soul, however ignorant and 



104 



THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



uncultured, which is a habitation of God through 
the Spirit, every human body which is made a tem- 
ple of the Holy Ghost, however weak and deformed, 
is greater than he whom the infallible Messiah pro- 
nounced superior to all his predecessors. Such a per- 
son may the reader be, if he will by faith enter into 
the dispensation of the blessed Comforter, far more 
glorious than the days when the visible form of J e- 
sus shed its radience on the earth. "It is expedient 
[better] for you that I go away ; for if I go not 
away, the Comforter will not come." " Of which 
salvation the prophets have inquired, testifying be- 
forehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory 
that should follow." Reader, is that glory enrobing 
your spirit with a vesture of light, so that you are 
walking in the light towards the inheritance of the 
saints in light? A dispensation laden with such 
wealth of privilege carries, with it a corresponding 
burden of responsibility. Light is the measure of 
accountability. Who of the modern church, illu- 
mined by the sevenfold splendors of the Spirit of 
truth, will be able to abide the fires of the judg- 
ment? Would that these solemn words of Fletcher 
were sounded from every pulpit in Christendom : 
" To reject the Son of God, manifested in the Spirit, 
as worldly Christians are universally observed to do, 
is a crime of equal magnitude with that of the Jews, 
who rejected Christ manifested in the flesh." There 
are multitudes of nominal Christians, who confidently 
assert that it is the highest presumption and folly to 



THE believer's privilege. 



105 



expect, in modern times, that full dispensation of 
the Spirit, concerning which so many excellent 
things are spoken in the Scriptures. They brand as 
a fanatic the man who proclaims to a slumbering 
church the presence of the Holy Ghost, ready to 
raise the spiritually dead, and to transfigure the 
spiritually living. It is asserted that the era of mir- 
acles and the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are 
passed, not understanding that the Spirit itself is 
entirely distinct from his supernatural gifts. The 
Spirit descended upon Mary, the mother of our Lord, 
and upon several other believing women in the upper 
chamber ; but there is no proof that they were en- 
dowed with the gift of tongues, or any other cha- 
risma. St. Paul himself was not always replenished 
with miraculous power. A man may be full of the 
Holy Spirit, and be a temple for his abode, and have 
no supernatural gift. Love supreme, love made 
perfect, is superior to all the miraculous endowments. 
Though I have all faith, so that I could remove 
mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. Wit- 
ness Balaam's supernatural prophecy, followed by 
his violent death among the enemies of God, and the 
miracles of Judas, quickly succeeded by treason to 
his Master, and wretched suicide. Another objec- 
tion, which men at ease in Zion raise against the 
universal outpouring of the Spirit in these days, is 
the fanaticism which it is supposed to breed. This 
would exclude all spiritual life from the world ; for 
life is liberty, and all liberty has its perils. The 



106 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 

prisoners handcuffed m grated cells, and the dead 
in silent tombs, are the only two classes of people 
#ho are not in peril of the abuse of their powers and 
privileges. That more fanatics and hypocrites start 
up in a church, filled and thrilled with spiritual life, 
than in a church in a Laodicean stupor, is no more 
wonderful than that a free country should give birth 
to more who abuse their freedom, than an autocratic 
iron despotism, where none dare to stir. Look at 
the Roman Catholic church, where not a breath of 
spiritual life can be drawn unless it is according to 
the decrees of the hierarchy, and every pulsation is 
under the jealous surveillance of the priesthood. The 
fanaticism of ecclesiasticism, of ritualism, of papacy, 
of Mariolatry, of indulgences, of penances and pil- 
grimages, may flourish there, but not the fanaticism 
of unscriptural notions concerning the Holy Spirit. 
For the Holy Ghost, as the witness of pardon, the 
author of purity, and the guide of life, comes into 
collision with the claims of the priesthood. So the 
Holy Ghost must be imprisoned in the apostolic age, 
and the Bible must be chained in the cloister or 
burned up, because it promotes independent thought 
and spiritual freedom. Give us a spiritual Protes- 
tantism, with all its perils of rationalism *and fanati- 
cism, in preference to the intellectual stupor and 
spiritual death of such a system. We must make 
our election between these two. Though there 
may be occasionally a weak or unbalanced mind 
carried away into fantastic extravagances under the 



THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE. 



107 



copious effusions of the Holy Spirit, as a mighty rush- 
ing wind, the average mind has skill to adjust its 
sails to the heavenly gale, and speed its way, with 
stable ballast, towards the port of eternal life. Come, 
O wind ! O breath of God !. upon myriads of be- 
calmed souls, and sweep them joyfully onward to 
the harbor of rest. 

Let us set up a safeguard against an abuse of the 
doctrine of this chapter respecting the three dispen- 
sations. If men can. be saved by attaining perfec- 
tion in any one of them, it may be inferred that we 
may take our choice. Not so. God controls this 
matter. He allots our place of birth, our education 
and surroundings. If it be in a pagan country, un- 
der the starlight of natural religion, the dispensation 
of the Father, with no distinctive knowledge of Jesus 
Christ, we shall be required to be perfect according 
to the low standard of Gentilism. The ground on 
which the heathen man will be condemned will not 
be the imperfectness of his life alone, but the fact 
that his life fails below his creed, poor as that may 
be. To him the Judge will say, " Ye knew your 
duty, but ye did it not. You had little light, but 
you shut your eyes, and refused to use what you had." 
The moralist, living in Christendom, cannot plead the 
perfection of paganism. This is a standard far be- 
low his degree of light. The sunrise of Christ's in- 
carnation is upon him, showing the path of Christian 
duty — love supreme to God in his Son, in addition 
to a perfect morality. Alas ! how many will fail at 



108 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST 



this point ! As Capernaum, blessed with the pres- 
ence, sermons, and miracles of Christ, all misim- 
proved, sinks down in the judgment day below Sod- 
om and Gomorrah, so will the impenitent of Chris- 
tian lands, with the Bible in his hands, — that lamp 
from off God's throne cast down to earth, lighting 
up their habitations, making the way of Christian 
rectitude luminous as a path of light before their 
feet, — sink down under a weight of guilt when the 
pagan nations shall rise up to condemn them. 

Thus the nominal Christian, who reads in the 
Acts of the Apostles of the dispensation of the Spirit 
more glorious than that of the Son of God, and hears 
from God's ambassador that it is his privilege and 
duty to be filled with the Spirit, and hears the at- 
testations of unimpeached witnesses that the blessed 
Spirit of adoption has certified to their pardon, re- 
newed and purified their natures, cannot innocently 
reject the ministration of the Holy Spirit, because it 
will cost him a painful effort of repentance, surren- 
der, consecration, and faith to reach this high spirit- 
ual altitude. He must become spiritually minded. 
Formalism, ceremonialism, and mere orthodoxy, 
cannot save him. — Rev. D. Steele, D. D., in 
Advocate of Christian Holiness, 



SELECT 



SERMONS 



CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE 




AUTHOR OF "HE LEADETH ME," " BELIEVER'S HAND-BOOK," "GIFT OP 
THE HOLY GHOST THE BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE," 
"choice HYMNS," &C. 



FOR SALE BY 
THE AUTHOR, READING, MASS. 
BOSTON: 

J. P. MAGEE, J. BENT & CO., BROMFIELD ST. ; J. H. EARLE, 
CORN HILL ; CONG. PUBLISHING HOUSE. 

PHILADELPHIA: 

REV. A. "WALLACE, 14 NORTH SEVENTH STREET; PERKINPINB 
AND HIGGINS, ARCH STREET. 





By REV. E. DAVIE S, 







Irs 7?7 



ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 



" The very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God 
your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blame- 
less unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." — 1 Thess. 
v. 23. 



HIS text and its connections teach most 
plainly, — 

First. That true Christians are sanc- 
tified but in part when they are regenerated, for 
the members of this church were regenerated, and 
still Paul prays that they may be entirely sanctified. 
In the first chapter they are addressed as "The 
Church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the 
Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ. We give 
thanks to God always for you all, remembering with- 
out ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, 
and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in 
the sight of God our Father. For our gospel came 
not unto you in word only, but also in power, and 
in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye 
know what manner of men we were among you, for 

3 




4 



ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 



your sakes. And ye became followers of us, and of 
the Lord, having received the word in much afflic- 
tion, with joy of the Holy Ghost." 

Now, all this shows that they were real Christians, 
and truly converted to God ; and still he prayed that 
they may attain the higher state of grace, which he 
calls "wholly sanctified," or entire sanctification. 

Secondly. We infer plainly that there is a state 
of entire sanctification within the reach of all true 
Christians in this life, for if the saints of that city 
may have reached it, so may we. What an exalted 
privilege ! Alas that so few attain it ! 

Thirdly. The measure of the privilege is the 
measure of the responsibility. If we may attain it, 
we are in duty bound to do so. 

Fourthly. The text teaches that this blessing may 
be attained noiv, for we are not to wait till death to 
experience it, but now in this life we may have it, 
and then be preserved therein till death shall intro- 
duce us to glory. 

Fifthly. This prayer goes on still farther, and 
asks that they may be " preserved blameless to the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Blameless:" 
what a blessed thought, that even in this present 
evil world God can keep us blameless, without 
fault ; and this agrees with that other passage of 
Holy Writ, which says, "Thou wilt keep him in 
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because 
he trusteth in thee." 

Whether any person has ever reached this state 



ENTIRE SAjSCTIFICATION. 



5 



or not, is not now the question ; the state is attain- 
able, or an inspired apostle would never have prayed 
for it. 

I. We inquire, What is the state of the truly con- 
verted before they are entirely sanctified? 

1. It is a state of justification. By faith in the 
Lord Jesus they have received pardon of all their 
sins. An act of favor has passed the divine mind 
in their behalf. They have "the righteousness of 
God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ." "Being 
justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
which is in Christ Jesus," for God is just, and yet 
the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. 

" One only gift can justify 
The boasting soul that knows his God." 

2. It is a state of regeneration. The moment that 
God for Christ's sake forgives the sinner, the Holy 
Ghost changes the heart. So he becomes a new 
creature — he is a new creation — old things are 
passed away, and behold all things are become new. 
"Justification is the great work that God does for 
us. Regeneration the great work that God does in 
us." (Wesley.) — We are born of God ; born of 
the Spirit, or from above ; " we have passed from 
death unto life," having " the washing of re genera- 
tion and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." 

3. In this state the soul enjoys the witness of the 
Spirit. " For ye have not received the spirit of bon- 

8 



6 



ENTIRE SANCTIFICATIOS. 



dage unto fear, but ye have received the Spirit of 
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The 
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we 
are the children of God." 

" Cheered by the witness from on high, 
Unwavering I believe, 
And Abba, Father, humbly cry ; 
Nor can the sign deceive." 

4. In this state we are heirs of eternal life. For 
"if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint 
heirs with Jesus Christ." 

" Now I can read my tide clear 
To mansions in the skies, 
I'll bid farewell to every fear, 
And wipe my weeping eyes." 

5. In this state the saint is kept from voluntarily 
committing sin. He hates sin, and flees from it. 
When in a state of penitence, he promised that if 
God would pardon the past, he would sin against 
him no more ; he turned from sin with a deep sense 
of its guilt and condemnation, and he fled for refuge 
to Christ ; and while he maintains this state he can- 
not sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he can- 
not sin. While this state of penitence is maintained, 
he turns from sin, great or small. The converted 
may be overcome in an hour of temptation, and fall 
into condemnation ; but while the inspiration of the 
Spirit is felt in the soul, and this is breathed back 



ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 



again into the bosom of God, and he maintains 
his first love, he cannot sin, for he keeps up a con- 
stant communion with God, and his motions and 
actions are all governed by the divine Spirit. The 
apostle John says, "We know that whosoever is 
born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten 
of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one touch- 
eth him not." 1 John v. 18. 

6. Still every true Christian knows that this is a 
state of conflict. 

(1.) With inbred sins, with the latent depravity 
of the soul, with the remains of the carnal mind 
still rising up like the roots of bitterness, and 
trouble the soul. However much his soul may be 
set against sin, still he finds springing up within 
him involuntary evils — as pride, love of the world, 
impatience, anger, a feeling of hatred to an enemy, 
an evil within answering to the temptaiton from 
without. His choice is against all these evils, 
and he wishes they did not exist ; and he resists and 
overcomes them in the strength of God. Still he 
has no power to cast them out, and he is grieved and 
afflicted to find them there. At the same time he 
finds the Spirit of God is 

" Carrying on the work within, 
Striving till he cast out sin." 

(2.) There is a conflict with the world. He is not 
yet quite dead to its fashions, its spirit and influence ; 
their alluring charms are still felt. How many fall 
just at this point ! 



<8 



ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION. 



(3.) Satan keeps up the conflict in the soul not 
fully saved. He can enter the soul by the various 
avenues that these sins have left open, and he is not 
slow to take all possible advantage. He entered the 
heart of Peter by the door of fear; he found admit- 
tance to the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira by the 
door of covetousness. The sweet singer of Israel 
was invaded by the door of fleshly lusts; others are 
entered by the door of vanity and trifling. " Eter- 
nal vigilance is the price of liberty," and none can 
maintain a state of regeneration without it. 

II. What is the state of entire sanctification ? 

1. It implies the casting out of all these inbred 
sins and moral pollutions. It is being cleansed from 
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and a perfecting 
of holiness in the fear of the Lord. And this is not 
accomplished by any natural process, or by mere 
growth in grace, but by the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost. It is not a development, but a gift, a be- 
stowment, an implantation. 

2. It is the filling of the soul with that perfect 
love that casteth out fear, and this love is the ruling 
principle of the soul. Now God is loved with all the 
heart, with all the mind, with all the soul, and with 
all the strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, with 
the same tender and faithful regard. 

3. This implies tiie dedication to God of all the 
members of the body, ail the faculties of the soul, 
all the portions of our time, all the pennies of our 



ENTIKE SANCTIFICATION. 



9 



property, and all the portions of our influence. 
Now we can sing, — 

" Take my soul and body's powers ; 

Take my memory, mind, and will, 
All my goods, and all my hours, 

All I know, and all I feel, 
All I think, or speak, or do ; 
Take my heart, but make it new." 

Now the soul dwells in purity, in a pure moral 
atmosphere, with pure motive and action. Now 
the soul lives in a state of security ; all God's plans 
and providences are right. Now that soul lives in 
glorious happiness, pure and complete, having found 
its true element and employment. Now the soul 
can "pray without ceasing, rejoice evermore, and in 
everything give thanks." 

Now the soul is prepared for labor or sacrifice 
for God, and the salvation of souls, in any part of 
the world, or for any length of time, as the Lord 
may direct. Still we have this treasure in earthen 
vessels, and are always liable to mistakes, and an 
error of judgment may lead to an error of practice; 
so that at our best moments we are liable to err 
through defect of knowledge ; and while there is not 
a strict conformity to the perfect law, yet there is a 
fulfilment of the law of love ; so that the most holy 
soul is made more completely dependent on the mer- 
its of the blood of the everlasting covenant, and so 



10 



ENTIRE SANCTIFIOATION. 



the law becomes w our schoolmaster, to bring us to 
Christ," and we sing, — 

" Every moment, Lord, I need 
The merit of thy death." 

I am happy to have read the testimonies of eighty 
living ministers on this wonderful experience. They 
are of different denominations, live in different states, 
were educated at different seats of learning. Some 
believe in Calvinism, and some in Arminianism ; 
they are strangers to each other, and without know- 
ing that the others were writing, they all attest the 
same experience of repentance, faith, justification, 
regeneration, inbred sins, entire sanctification by a 
simple act of faith, and an immediate transformation 
into the glorious image of God. And this united 
testimony of such eminent men is not to be set aside. 
Dear reader, have you attained this mighty full- 
ness? If not, why not now? 



FR.EE indeed. 



"If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free in-, 
deed." 

HRIST said to the cavilling Jews, "If ye 
believe not that I am he, ye shall die in 
your sins ; " but to the believing Jews he 
said, "Ye shall know the truth ; " "Ye shall expound 
the truth," and " The truth shall make you free." 
They replied, "We be Abraham's seed, and were never 
in bondage to any man. How sayest thou, then, that 
we shall be free?" Jesus answered them, "Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is 
the servant Tor dolo$~\ of sin," is in bondage to his 
sin. And the servant, or slave, abideth not in the 
house forever, but is liable to be- turned out at any 
time. But the son abideth e ver . nas always a per- 
fect right to stay in the house of his father. If the 
Son make you free, then ye shall be delivered from 
the guilt. and dominion of sin, and remaining so, ye 
shall remain in the house of God forever. "It, 
therefore, the Son shall make you free, ye shall be 
free indeed." Ye shall be admitted into "the glo- 
rious liberty of the children of God." 

11 




12 



FREE INDEED. 



Then the subject before us is true freedom, or lib- 
erty in its essence, and the means of attaining it. 

But freedom is not lawlessness. When we are 
made free, it is not from obedience to law, but in 
obedience to law. It is by effecting a harmony be- 
tween our desires and our obligations. It is bring- 
ing us into that state of mind when we shall desire 
, only what God enjoins ; and since God requires only 
what is for our present and eternal good, we feel no 
restraint. The wish and the will agree. The con- 
science and the heart coincide to do the will of God. 

The whole universe is under law, from the might- 
iest archangel to the smallest insect. None of them 
can exist aside from the government of God, the 
great first cause and support of all things. The 
heavenly host are free, not because they are not 
under law, but because their natures are in harmony 
with the law. But sinful man is in bondage, be- 
cause his desires and inclinations go contrary to his 
obligations. His evil heart prompts him to do what 
he knows he ought not to do. 

The body is under law, and its health is promoted 
by obeying the laws of the body. If we allow no 
indulgence but what the law of the body allows, we 
feel no restraint. But he is the slave who wishes 
for that indulgence which the fear of penalty deters 
him from. 

In spiritual things our first conviction is that of 
allegiance to God. We know we are under his 
moral government, and we cannot but be miserable 



FREE INDEED. 



13 



forever in violation of Lis moral and just require- 
ments. These requirements are immutable. God 
cannot change his own nature or laws. Then we 
inquire, — 

I. How does Christ, in his gospel, make us free 
indeed ? 

1. He does not lower the claims of the law. 
"The law is holy, just, and good." But we have 
broken the law, and are exposed to its penalty. 
How can we be made free, since God can never give 
up his claim to perfect obedience? Here we bring 
in the glorious atonement : " In the fullness of time 
God sent forth his Son, and made man the law, that 
he might redeem us, who were under the law ; " i. e., 
endure the curse of the law in himself, suffer, the just 
for the unjust, " that we might receive the adoption 
of sons ;" and hereby we obtain the glorious liberty. 

2. We must remember that while the law stands 
before us as the ground of God's original claim, and 
therefore is to the sinner the law of sin and death, yet, 
at the same time, Christ, our deliverer, has brought in 
another law, — the gospel law of liberty, — which 
is adapted to our present fallen state. For the law 
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free 
from the law of sin and death ; for what the law 
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, 
i. e., could never justify us, because we had broken 
it, and could not in our depraved state obey it, God 
sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, 



14 FREE INDEED. 

"having a perfect human nature," "and for sins," 
i. e., by offering a sacrifice of himself for sin, "he 
condemned sin in the flesh," i. e., he uttered sen- 
tence against it, that those who believed in him 
should be delivered from it. So that the believer is. 
not under the law of sin and death, but is under 
"the law of the spirit of life," — that law which has 
in it spirit and life, which not only points to our 
duty, but gives us the power to obey, and so we be- 
come "free indeed" from "the law and sin of 
death." 

3. Observe that Christ effects our liberty by bring- 
ing up our fallen natures to the standard of this new 
gospel law of liberty. 

He purifies our affections, washes away our guilt, 
illuminates our understandings, inspires us with the 
very spirit of love to God and man, and this love is 
the fulnllins: of the law. And in this state we are 
free indeed, because our duty becomes our delight, 
our desires harmonize with our obligations. We 
delight to run in the way of God's commands, and 
now we " stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ 
hath made us free." 

We are no longer led captive by the devil at his 
will, but as the sons of God we are led by the Spir- 
it of God. 

4. Christ effects our emancipation by changing 
the condition of our justification. 

In the legal dispensation man must be justified 
by the law of works, for " cursed is every one that 



FREE INDEED. 



15 



continueth not in all things that are written in the 
law to do them." So that one violation of this 
law involves the transgressor in endless ruin. So 
that by the deeds of the law could no flesh be justi- 
fied in his sight. Thank God, in this sense we are 
not under the law, but under grace ! We are not 
justified by our own works, but by faith in the atone- 
ment of Christ. Here we And deliverance from those 
involuntary offences to the holy law which our infir- 
mities constantly lead us to, viz., errors of judgment 
leading to errors of practice, and many other things 
from which we may not be delivered in this state of 
infirmity but; glory to God, the blood cleanseth 
every moment. 

" And every moment, Lord, [by faith] I have 
The merit of thy death." 

Every moment, by a living act of faith, we 
have the application of that precious blood that 
cleanseth from all sin. 

Here it is that we find true freedom. We are 
made free indeed, fully free. Here our highest de- 
lights are in connection and in harmony with our 
highest obligations. Here the divine nature is im- 
planted, so that God not only dwells, but reigns 
within, and our whole being is kept in his sweet 
control. 

Dear reader, are you God's free man, or Satan's 
slave? The wages of sin are death, but the gift of 
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 



16 



THE MEASURE OF FAITH. 



This is a personal matter. The freedom is procured 
for and proffered to all ; but you must swear allegiance 
to the King of Glory. Having renounced the devil 
and all his works, and sweetly lying at the feet of 
Jesus, in entire submission and sweetest confidence, 
you shall be made " Free Indeed." 



THE MEASURE OF FAITH. 

" For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man 
that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than 
he ought to think ; but to think soberly, according as God 
hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." — Rom. xii. 3. 

HIS is a very humiliating and yet glorious 
portion of God's Word. It is a very 
easy thing for a man to over-estimate 
himself, and all men are liable to do so unless they 
take this rule of God's estimation, namely, "As 
God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." 

I. What is the faith mentioned in the text? It is 
translated from the Greek word pistis, and means a 
firm belief or persuasion of the truth and veracity of 
any person or doctrine ; then it is the assurance, 
trust, implicit and unwavering hope and confidence 
in any person, or exercised in respect to anything. 




THE MEASURE OF FAITH. 



17 



II. Why does God estimate a man according to 
the measure of faith? 

1. Because such a man puts a proper estimate 
upon the promises of God. They loom up before 
him as so many realities, not as so many shadows. 

" Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 
And looks to that alone ; 
Laughs at impossibilities, 
And cries, It shall be done." 

This faith fastens upon the promises of God, and 
claims their fulfilment. This unwavering confidence 
honors God, and hence God honors the man that 
has it. 

2. This man implicitly obeys the precepts. They 
are to him God's words of command, and he lies low, 
in obedience, at the feet of Jesus, crying out, "Lord, 
what wouldst thou have me to do?" This is the 
faith that works by love and purifies the heart. 

3. This man rests confidingly in the truth of 
God's threatenings. They are just as real as the prom- 
ises, and will just as really be executed. This made 
the patriarch Noah move with fear, and prepare him 
an ark for the saving of his house, for he knew that 
the flood would come, and he showed his faith by 
his works, and so condemned the world, and " be- 
came heir of the righteousness which is by faith." 

4. This faith enables the possessor to see the real- 
ities of eternity, heaven and hell, the lost and the 
saved, as plain as the furniture of the universe, the 

2 



18 



THE MEASURE OF FAITH. 



sun, moon, and stars ; he can see the blood-washed 
host around the throne, and at the same time he can 
see the lost souls as they sink beneath the billows of 
eternal damnation. By faith he can place his right 
hand on the crown of life, while with his left hand 
he plucks the trembling sinner from the verge of the 
eternal gulf. 

5. This faith enables the man not only to realize 
that God is, but it brings God near ; yea, more, it 
unites the soul with God. Yes, more than all this, 
it brings the soul into glorious fellowship with God, 
and as faith increases, it brings the soul into the 
sweetest intimacy with God, so that God becomes 
an intimate, ever-present, and almighty Friend. 
" Faith is fellowship with God. Faith is the love- 
clasp to the heart of God, seen and felt." 

6. This faith makes the soul wonderfully satisfied 
with its portion. "The Lord is my portion," saith 
this soul. Having God, he possesses all things. 
tf All this and Christ," aaid the poor widow, with her 
crust of bread and cup of cold water. 

7. This faith not only gives a title to, but also a 
foretaste of, the infinite treasure of heaven, 

" 'Tis a heaven below 
My Redeemer to know." 

Hear this faith -singing, — 

<• No foot of land do I possess, 
No cottage in the wilderness, 
A poor wayfaring man ; 



THE MEASURE OF FAITH. 



19 



I lodge a while in tents below, 
And gladly wander to and fro 
Till I my Canaan gain. 

" Yonder's my house and portion fail' ; 
My treasure and my heart are there, 

•And my abiding home ; 
For me trie elder brethren stay, 
And angels beckon me away, 

And Jesus bids me come." 



With the infinite riches, knowledge, power, and 
felicity of heaven full in view every moment, how 
infinitely independent is a believing beggar of every 
prince on the globe ! 

8. This man is valuable because this faith affords 
him wonderful fortitude in the hours of severest 
trials. It binds the soul to the eternal throne, so 
that it cannot be moved. Now he can go through 
the fiery furnace, the Red Sea, or the lion's den, 
without any manner of hurt. He sweetly sings, in 
the darkest hour, — 



"What though my joys and comforts die ; 
The Lord, my Saviour, liveth ; 
What though the darkness gathers round ; 
Songs in the night he giveth. 

" No storm can shake my inmost calm, 
While to this refuge clinging ; 
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, 
How can I keep from singing ? " 



And again it takes up the song of triumph thus : — 



20 



THE MEASURE OF FAITH. 



" Though in affliction's furnace tried, 
Unhurt on snares and death I tread ; 

Though sin assail, and hell, thrown wide, 
Pours all its flames upon my head, 

Like Moses' bush, I'll mount the higher, 

And flourish, unconsumed in fire." 

The possessor of this faith is so much the more val- 
uable in God s estimation, because this principle of 
faith sweetly unites all true Christians together as 
members of the body of Christ. Every one mem- 
bers one of another. 

These reasons show plainly how it is that God 
values the man of faith. He that has the most faith 
has the most of God, and is the most completely 
given as an instrument in his hands, to be used for 
his glory. God works by him; he thereby becomes 
a channel of God's power. Barnabas was "full of 
the Holy Ghost and faith, and much people were 
added to the Lord." The amount of faith is the 
gauge of all real consequence in Christian character. 
So that the Christian is not to be measured by the 
amount of his education, the extent of his wealth, 
the character of his social position, or by the perse- 
cution or the applause that he may receive of man, 
but by the proportion of his faith. 

So the minister of Jesus is not to be estimated by 
the extent of his learning, the size of his congrega- 
tion, the style of his appointment, or the character 
of his office, but by the measure of his faith. 

All other qualifications are valuable only as they 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



21 



become instruments for his faith ; as such let the 
minister use his elocution, his logic, rhetoric, pulpit 
power, social influence, and pastoral efficiency. Faith 
can use and give value to them all. 

Dear reader, do you realize that you may be filled 
with faith and the Holy Ghost ? 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 

" Wherefore he is able to save them also to the uttermost, that 
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make inter- 
cession for them." — Heb. vii. 25. 

N the State of New York there stood at the 
bar of public justice a poor, guilty crim- 
inal, charged with the awful crime of 
murder. In the silence of the night, he had entered 
the house of one of his neighbors, and, in a most 
cruel manner, had put to death its innocent inmates. 
Public justice was incensed against him, and clamored 
for his blood, and could hardly wait for the process 
of law. Before the trial commenced, the judge 
raised the inquiry, — 

"Has the prisoner at the bar any counsel?" 
There was silence in the court. Who would say 
a word in defence of such a miserable man ? At 
length there arose a young lawyer, who said, "May 
9 




22 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



it please your honor, I will defend the prisoner at 
the bar." That is, he would conduct the case. That 
young man was no less a personage than our late 
secretary of state, Hon. W. H. Seward. But away 
back in the ages past, I see a guilty world standing 
at the bar of God, charged with the fearful sin of 
rebellion. Divine justice burned with indignation 
against them, and was ready to cut them off. There 
was silence in heaven, and it would seem as though 
they must perish. But look ! I see coming out of 
the secret chambers of Deity one like unto the Son 
of God. He looks with an eye of pity, and yearns 
with a heart of love. He offers himself to surfer 
the penalty of their sin, and, having assumed our 
nature, and lived our example, he at length died in 
our stead ; and now he ever liveth to make interces- 
sion for us. What a glorious fact ! 

I. Consider the intercession of Christ. 

1. Was he qualified for this office? Yes, verily ! 
Because, as a man, he knew how to pity man, he 

was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and 
was in all points tempted like as we are, and yet 
without sin. As a man, he knew the afflictions and 
sorrows of man, and could fully sympathize with us ; 
and it is a mighty comfort to us to know that we 
have an Elder Brother in • heaven, who is bone of 
our bone, flesh of our flesh, and soul of our souL 

2. Because he is God with God, and knows the 
claims of God upon us sinners, and the price that he 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



23 



paid for our redemption, and he lives to plead the 
merits of his own death for our salvation. And so, 
with his divinity he takes hold on Deity, and in his 
humanity he holds up the fallen race, and so he has 
become a mediator between God and man, the man 
Christ Jesus. 

3. He is fully prepared to intercede for us be- 
cause he is God's only begotten Son, and as such he 
has power in the court of heaven, when he shows 
himself to God for us. How could I better secure 
a favor from Queen Victoria than through her eldest 
son, the Prince of Wales? His very presence at the 
court would speak ; how much more when the Prince 
of Peace pleads for man in the presence of the King 
of Kings ! 

4. He is fully qualified to intercede for us, because 
he is as deeply interested for us as when he entered 
the garden of Gethsemane, or when he was led 
as a lamb to the slaughter, to lay down his life upon 
the cross, for still 

" His heart is made of tenderness, 
His bowels yearn with love." 

How blessed to have such a dear, sympathizing 
friend, and to know that "he ever liveth to make 
intercession for us." 

II. How does he intercede? 

1. Some say vocally, as when on earth he said, 
" Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given 



24 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



me, be with me where I am, that they may behold 
my glory." 

2. Some say silently, as we read, "The blood of 
sprinkling speaketh better things than the blood of 
Abel." And the poet expresses it in a most striking 
manner when he says, — 

" Five bleeding wounds he bears, 

Received on Calvary ; 
They pour effectual prayers, 

They strongly speak for me : 
Forgive him ! O, forgive, they cry, 
Nor let that ransomed sinner die." 

Dear reader, just think of the blessed Jesus 
standing before the throne of God, as the Lamb 
newly slain, showing himself to God for you, and 
for the race. Praise God forever more, for the glo- 
rious fact. 

III. For whom does he intercede ? 

1. For those who have committed their case into 
his hands, for those who have fled to him for refuge 
from the wrath of God, which abideth upon the 
children of the disobedient. Blessed thought ! 

" My name is written on his hands." 

Glory be to God, that the saints are constantly 
had in remembrance before the God of hosts, and are 
ever enjoying the pleadings of the precious Jesus ! 

2. He intercedes for those who never intercede 
for themselves — for the mighty musses of men who 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



25 



rise up in the morning, and lie down at night, very 
much like the beasts that perish, without a thought 
of reverence or an act of devotion. These guilty 
sinners are kept every moment from dropping into 
the pit of woe by the perpetual pleadings of Jesus. 

"When justice bared the sword, 
To cut the fig-tree down, 
The pity of our Lord 

Cried, ' Let it still alone.' " 

Dear sinner, dost thou know that thy probation 
is kept in being by the constant intercession of thy 
ever-blessed Saviour? That thou wouldst have been 
long ago down among the lost souls in hell, if the 
blessed Jesus had ceased to plead? How common 
it is to see a sinner cut off in his sins ! What a 
mercy that you still live ! O, fly to Christ now. 

" He ever lives above, 
For thee to intercede, 
His all-redeeming love, 

His precious blood, to plead ; 
His blood atones for all our race, 
And sprinkles now the throne of gr^ce." 

IV. Consider his ability to save, as founded upon 
his intercession. For " he is able to save them also 
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing 
he ever liveth to make intercession for them." 

1. He is able to save from the guilt of sin. 

This guilt lies as a heavy load upon the soul of 
the sinner. It has been accumulating for years, and 



26 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



is still increasing. It may be the sinner is not 
aware of it, and would . hardly believe it; still it is 
true. But glory to God, the blood of Jesus can 
cleanse it all away. Let this blessed work be done, 
dear sinner, or thy sins will sink thee to the lowest 
hell. 

2. He can save thee from the power of sin. 

It is fearful to see how great is the power of sin 
over the soul of the sinner. It binds him like a fet- 
ter, and drives him like a slave. He boasts of his 
liberty, and imagines himself free, when, alas ! he is 
still controlled by the power of sin, and Jesus alone 
can 

" Break the power of cancelled sin, 
And set the prisoner free." 

3. He can save from the in-being of sin, or to 
the uttermost. 

It is verily true that sin still remains in the heart 
of the true believer. It is there in a latent form, as 
a conquered foe, still determined to regain the mas- 
tery if possible. How often this sin within betrays 
its possessor into the hands of the enemy without ! 
This is the secret of the downfall of so many good 
men and women. They fail to test the power of 
Christ to save them to the uttermost, and they fall 
in an evil hour of temptation. 

A minister once told me that, long after he was 
converted, God revealed his heart to him, and he 
could plainly see the seeds of all manner of sins in 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



27 



his heart. As so many small fibres they ran all 
through him, and he said he could never say that he 
was saved to the uttermost till he should see God, 
with his own fingers, taking out these sins. I said, 
" Why not go to God and have them cast out ? We 
believe in the power that saves to the uttermost." 
He made no reply, and I fear those sins are still 
lingering in his heart. Praise the blessed Jesus, — 

" His blood can make the foulest clean ; 
His blood avails for me." 

This word uttermost includes the idea of time, 
and means that he can save to the end of time, or as 
long as we need saving. He can cleanse and keep us 
clean. This was the idea of the apostle when he 
prayed, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, 
and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body 
be preserved blameless unto the . coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ." 

0, test this mighty Saviour's utmost power, and 
know for yourself that he can save to the fullest ex- 
tent of power or of time. 

V. Whom can he save to the uttermost? 

"All that come unto God by him. He is the way, 
the truth, and the life ; no man cometh to the Father 
but by him." 

Do you ask, "How shall I come?" 

1. Come by repentance. "Turn ye, turn ye, 
from your evil ways." 



28 



THE UTTERMOST SALVATION. 



2. Come by prayer. "Seek ye the Lord while 
he may be found, call ye upon him while he is 
near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the un- 
righteous man his thought, and let him turn unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to 
our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 

3. You must come by faith. " He that cometh to 
God must believe that he is, and that he is a re- 
warder of them that diligently seek him." 

4. You must come in the name and for the sake 
of the blessed Jesus. For he can save to the utter- 
most all that come, unto God by him. 

" Thou dying Lamb, thy precious blood 
Shall never lose its power, 
Till all the ransomed church of God 
Are saved, to sin no more." 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 29 



FAITH Am ITS EFFECTS. 

"Jesus said unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou 
wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God ? " — 
John xi. 40. 

HIS blessed text is found connected with 
one of the most interesting narratives in 
the Word of God. When the self-sac- 
rificino- Jesus became weary of the care and toil of 
life in the city of Jerusalem, he loved to resort to the 
quiet home of Mary and Martha, and their brother 
Lazarus. But the shades of death had darkened 
that peaceful home, and the precious Jesus was 
not there, although the loving sisters had sent 
for him while their brother was sick. To try their 
faith, and for the glory of God, Jesus did not 
go immediately to their relief, but " abode two days 
still in the place where he was." But at length he 
started to their certain relief. When Martha met 
him, she said, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died. But I know that even now 
whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it 
thee. Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise 
again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall 
rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus 




30 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life ; he 
that belie veth in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live. And whosoever liveth and belie veth in me 
shall never die. Believest thou this ? She saith unto 
him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, 
the Son of God, which should come into the world." 

Still Martha's faith failed her when she heard 
Jesus tell them to roll away the stone from the door 
of the grave ; for she said, " Lord, by this time he 
stinketh, for he hath been dead four days." Jesus 
replied, in the language of the text, " Said I not unto 
thee, that if thou wouldst believe thou shouldst see 
the glory of God ? " 

So the sentiment of the text is, that faith reveals 
the glory of God, or that God shows his glory to 
those that believe. 

I. Consider what is faith. 

1. Let us take a general view of it, and say that 
faith is the fundamental principle of all science or 
learning. 

There are certain primary principles in our na- 
tures which cannot be proved or denied by any other ; 
they must be believed and received before you can 
have any ground for an argument. They are ante- 
cedents to all reasoning. They are the unfailing 
concomitants of our nature. These truths are gen- 
erally admitted, for those who deny them in theory 
allow them in e very-day life. These self-evident 
truths stand as so many sentinels at the portals of all 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



31 



science, mental, moral, or physical, and they le- 
maud our assent to them before we advance in one 
or the other. 

The God of truth has written them upon our 
natures, and we impeach his moral character when 
we deny them. Faith is here, as elsewhere, the sub- 
stance or substantiality of things hoped for, and the 
evidence of things not seen. 

For illustration, take personal identity or exist- 
ence. The man who undertakes to prove or deny 
that he is, takes the thing for granted before he 
begins, for he must exist before he begins to prove 
or deny it. 

In the science of theology, the divine existence 
is taken for granted} for in the first verse of the 
Bible we read, " In the beginning God created the 
heavens and the earth ; " and he must have existed 
before the beginning, or he could not have created 
all things. 

When we undertake to prove a First Cause from 
the works of creation, we have virtually allowed the 
cause before we begin to examine the effect ; for we 
are examining his works to prove his existence, when 
he must of necessity have existed before he could 
have created. 

The fact is, faith underlies all our investigations ; 
and man is made to believe, and must believe, or re- 
main a fool as to all general knowledge. Children, 
by a natural aptitude, believe what their parents tell 
them, and in this way they learn. Suppose they 



32 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



were as much inclined to doubt as they are to believe ; 
how impossible it would be to learn them anything. 
Suppose they should deny that A is a, and that B is 
b, &c. ; then they must remain in ignorance; but 
with this natural inclination to believe, they rely upon 
what we teach them, and so they learn one science 
after another. 

2. Faith lies at the foundation of all society. 

It hath pleased God to ff set the world in families," 
but these could not exist without faith. The hus- 
band must have faith in the wife, the wife must have 
faith in the husband, the children must have faith in 
the parents, and the parents must have faith in the 
children. It is the connecting link that binds man 
to man, family to family, town to town, state to state, 
and nation to nation. Without faith, society would 
fall to pieces like a rope of sand. We were made 
to trust one another, and we must trust one another ; 
for society cannot otherwise exist. Let the wife lose 
faith in the husband, the husband in the wife, the 
master in the servant, the servant in the master ; let 
business men lose their confidence in one another ; 
let ship-owners lose confidence in ship-masters, and 
ship-masters in ship-owners ; and let this state of un- 
belief extend from town to town, from state to state, 
and from nation to nation, and what an awful world 
this would be ! What a fearful state of anarchy and 
ruin would prevail ! 

3. Faith gives value to stocks, bonds, bank bills, 
and notes of hand. 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



33 



Some one pays you a thousand dollars. You meet 
a friend, and he says, — 
" Did you get your pay ? " 
" Yes." 

"Have you got the money?" 
" No, I took his note." 

" Why, his note is not good ; he has no money to 
redeem it." And immediately that note decreases 
in value in your estimation, and you feel like selling 
it for half its expressed value. But you go on, and 
meet another man, and he says, — 

" Did he pay you what he owed you ? " 

" Well — yes, he gave me his note for it, but I am 
not sure that his note is good." 

"O, yes it is. He has more money than many 
think he has, and you will be sure of your pay." 

And all at once your mind is relieved, because 
your confidence is restored in the promise to pay on 
the face of that note. 

And this is a fair example of the rise and fall of 
the money markets, and shows the reasons of the 
fluctuations of Wall Street, New York, and State 
Street, Boston. 

4. Now we come to notice the simple and blessed 
fact that faith gives value to the promises of the 
Bible. 

The Bible is a packet of checks on the Bank of 
Faith, payable at sight, for their full expressed value. 
But they are of no value to him who lacks faith. 
" Without faith it is impossible to please God ; for 
3 



34 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and 
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek 
him." 

This Bank of Faith is open all hours of the day 
and night, and is within the immediate reach of all 
who " have faith in God ; " and God is always pleased 
to have us come, and never blames us for asking too 
much, but says, "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in 
my name ; ask, and receive, that your joy may be 
full." 

" Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, 
And looks to that alone, 
Laughs at impossibilities, 

And cries, ' It shall be done.' " 

And again your soul should cry out, — 

" Despond, then, no longer ; 
The Lord will provide ; 

And this be the token : 

No word he hath spoken 

Was ever yet broken — 
The Lord will provide." 

5. Faith is the prime and essential principle of 
all religion. 

Spiritual things are beyond the vision of human 
sense, but faith is the power by which we discern all 
spiritual things. Paul shows us how far they are 
laid open to the eye of faith when he says, "Ye are 
couie unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the liv- 
ing God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innu- 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



35 



merable company of angels, to the general assembly 
and church of the first-born, which are written in 
heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the 
spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the 
Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the blood 
of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that 
of Abel." 

Now, it is only by faith that we can come to all 
these glorious realities, and they are only as shadows 
to the man without faith. 

And, again, Moses endured, as seeing Him who is 
invisible, and this he could do only by faith. 

To the man of faith, eternal things become as 
manifest as the very furniture of the universe — the 
sun, moon, and stars. Hell glooms from below, and 
heaven shines from above ; both are within the sweep 
of his horizon. His faith commands a stand-point 
where he can see the dazzling throng of redeemed 
souls around the throne, and at the same time he 
can seev the finally impenitent crowding their way 
down to the chambers of death, so that God, angels, 
heaven and hell, mortality and immortality, the 
atonement of Christ and the eternal consequences of 
gin, are all as so many vivid realities. 

" Faith lends its realizing light ; 

The clouds disperse, the shadows fly, 
The invisible appears in sight, 
And God is seen by mortal eye." 

John Wesley says, " Having the eyes of our un- 



36 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



derstanding both opened and enlightened to see the 

things which the natural eye hath not seen, we have 

a prospect of the invisible things of God ; we see the 

spiritual world which is all round about us, yet no 

more discernible by our natural faculties than if they 

had no being, and we see the eternal world piercing 

through the veil that hangs between time and eterni- 
se o 

ty. Clouds and darkness then hang upon it no 
more, but we already see the glory that shall be re- 
vealed." And in this sense it is plain that we must 
believe, or we cannot seek the glory of God. 

II. Consider the effects of faith. 

1. It helps us to place a proper estimate upon ma- 
terial things. 

The almighty dollar has been called the god of 
this nation, and it is surely true that we abound with 
wealth. Our increase in material good the past ten 
years, has been beyond all precedent or parallel — 
viz., nearly fourteen thousand millions of dollars; 
$14,000,000,000; and this is exclusive of any esti- 
mated sum for colored citizens, who were treated as 
chattels in the former census ; and all this notwith- 
standing the fearful expenses and destruction of prop- 
erty in the fiery ordeal of the late war. We have 
nearly doubled our wealth in ten years. Now, this 
sudden influx of wealth endangers the life of the 
nation, by exposing it to the liability of death by 
apoplexy of wealth, unless we, as a people, have 
that faith which reveals to us the beauty and' glory 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



37 



of that city whose foundations are precious stones, 
whose gates are each one several pearl, and whose 
streets are paved with pure gold, as it were trans- 
parent glass, and the glory of God did lighten it, 
and the Lamb is the light thereof, and into which 
the kings of the earth do bring their glory and 
honor. 

When we view these material things in the light 
of eternity, then they sink to their proper value, and 
prove a blessing instead of a curse ; and all this 
must be by faith, 

2. This faith is one of the most humiliating prin- 
ciples of the mind. 

It strips man of all his pride, and lays him low at 
the feet of Jehovah, while it puts great honor upon 
God, and crowns Jesus " Lord of all." 

3. It is the most powerful principle with which 
man is endowed. 

We see this in the scripture record of the ancient 
worthies, Pr who through faith subdued kingdoms, 
wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped 
the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, 
escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were 
made strong, waxing valiant in fight, turned to flight 
the armies of the aliens." 

This faith links man to Jehovah, and takes fast 
hold of his throne, and moves even the arm of Om- 
nipotence. By this faith Jacob prevailed when he 
wrestled with the angel, and as a prince he had 
power with God and prevailed. 

10 



38 



FAITH AND ITS EFFECTS. 



" What tongue can tell the Almighty grace ! 
God's hands or bound or open are, 
As Moses or Elijah prays." 

It stopped the plague from destroying the Israel- 
ites in the wilderness when God said to Moses, "Let 
me alone." And it locked and opened the heavens 
in the time of Elijah, and even brought fire down- 
from heaven as quick as the lightning flash, and con- 
founded and destroyed the four hundred and fifty 
prophets of Baal. This faith so fully enveloped 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that not even 
the smell of fire passed upon them, over whose bodies 
the fire had no power, nor. was a hair of their head 
ringed, neither were their coats changed ; and yet the 
flames were so fierce that they slew the mighty men 
who cast them into the furnace. And this faith has 
sustained all the martyrs, apostles, and reformers of 
every age since. It broke the chain that bound 
Luther to Catholicism, or Wesley to the Church of 
England. It sustained Wesley and his co-agitators 
amid the wicked masses of England, and in the wilds 
of America. 

It has cheered the dying couch of many myriads 
of souls, and they have gone " sweeping through 
the gates, ivashed in the blood of the Lamb" 

" Lord, give u=* such a faith as this ; 
And then, whate'er may come, 
We'll taste even here the hallowed bliss 
Of an eternal home." 



WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED ? 



" Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy 
house." — Acts xvi. 30, 31. 

HE apostles of Jesus were itinerant minis- 
ters, filled with the love of Jesus ; they 
were ready to follow the leadings of the 
Holy Ghost. In a vision of the night, Paul saw a 
man of Macedonia, who prayed him, saying, "Come 
over into Macedonia and help us." Immediately 
they endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly 
gathering that the Lord had called them to preach 
the gospel there. They found no church, no par- 
sonage, no promise of support ; by the river-side 
they held their meetings, with a few women for a 
congregation ; and the Lord opened the heart of 
Lydia ; then they had a home, for she said, " Come 
into my house and abide there, and she constrained 
them." 

A spirit of divination possessed the soul of a cer- 
tain damsel, and she followed Paul and Silas, crying, 
''These men are the servants of the Most High God, 

39 




40 WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED? 



which show unto us the way of salvation." And 
this she did many days. But Saul could not wink 
at this device of the devil to bring this glorious 
revival into disrepute; so, being grieved, he turned 
to the spirit, and said, "I command thee, in the 
name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And he 
came out the same hour." Her masters, seeing the 
hope of their gains was gone, dragged Paul and 
Silas into the market-place unto the rulers. The 
multitude rose up against them. And when they 
had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them 
into the prison, and commanded the jailer to keep 
them safely ; who, having received such a charge, 
thrust them into the inner prison, and made their 
feet fast in the stocks. This was a severe trial of 
their faith, — to be pushed into that dungeon with 
bleeding backs and afflicted souls, and to be ban- 
ished from the presence of their loved ones ; but, 
glory to God ! their communications were open with 
heaven, and at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and 
sang praises to God ; and they were so happy and 
earnest in their devotions that the prisoners heard 
them. And God, by an earthquake, shook the 
foundations of the prison, and "immediately all the 
doors were opened, and every one's bands were 
loosed. And the keeper of the prison, waking out 
of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he 
drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, 
supposing the prisoners had been fled. But Paul 
cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, 



WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED? 41 



for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and 
sprang in, and came trembling, and said, Sirs, 
what must I do to be saved ? And without any 
retaliation or delay, they said, Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 

T. Consider what this question of the jailer indi- 
cates, or what must be the state of the sinner, before 
we have any authority to say to him, "Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 

1. There must be a solemn conviction of sin and 
guilt. 

As the creature of God's moral government, he 
must realize that he has deliberately broken God's 
just requirements, and is exposed to his righteous 
indignation; that he is lost, and forever lost, unless 
God has mercy upon him. His language is, — 

" Out of the depths of woe, 

To thee, Lord, I cry ; 
Darkness surrounds me, but I know 

That thou art ever nigh. 
Humbly on thee I wait, 

Confessing all my sin : 
Lord, I am knocking at the gate ; 

Open, and take me in." 

He must be fully satisfied that he is a guilty sin- 
ner, or he will never seek the salvation of the 
mighty Saviour. 

2. He must fully realize that he is a helpless 
sinner.* Many a convicted man will strive by some 



42 WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED? 



means to save himself, and think, "Now I have 
done so many evil things, so I will do so many good 
things to balance them." So he thinks that by 
not running any deeper into debt, God will over- 
look his past offences. Nay, verily ! your sins must 
be confessed, forsaken, and pardoned, or you be 
w punished with everlasting destruction from the 
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
power." You must feel the force of the following, 
and adopt it as your language : — 

" Mercy alone can meet my case ; 

For mercy, Lord, I cry : 
Jesus, Redeemer ! show thy face 

In mercy, or I die. 
I perish, and my doom were just ; 

But wilt thou leave me ? — No ! 
I hold thee fast ; my hope, my trust, 

I will not let thee go." 

You cannot save yourselves in whole or in part. 
Sing with the poet, — 

" Could my tears forever flow, 
Could my zeal no languor know, — ■ 
These for sins could not atone ; 
Thou must save, and thou alone. 
In my hand no price I bring ; 
Simply to thy cross I cling." 

3. While the sinner can do nothing by the way 
of merit, yet he can seek the Lord with all his heart, 
and he must be willing to take up any cross, to 
make any sacrifice, to cut off the right hand sins, or 



WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED? 43 



pluck out the right eye sins. "He that forsaketh 
not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple." 

A missionary sat in a bamboo chair, in front of 
his house in the East Indies, weary and worn with 
care. He turned into his house, and there stood 
before him a young native, with a beautiful turban 
on his head, and wearing a robe of yellow silk. 
This showed that he was of the higher caste, for 
none else were allowed to wear such attire. He 
made a respectful bow, and sat down on a low, 
matted stool, and said, "I have come to tell you 
that I have seen the folly and sin of idol worship, 
and I now believe in the Christian religion." 

"What do you wish me to do?" said the mis- 

sionarv. 

%/ 

"I want you to baptize me, that I may be known 
as a disciple of Christ." He went on to say that he 
was rich ; that he had four large estates worth fifty 
thousand pounds in gold, and that he stood in the 
highest rank among his own people. The mission- 
ary told him to think well what he was about ; for 
"you have riches, honor, and friends; you ride in 
your own carriage, and live like a prince ; but all 
you have w^ill be torn from you if you profess the 
Christian faith." 

"I hear wdiat you say," said the young prince, 
,f about my rank, my property, and my friends ; but 
I put the whole in one scale, and I put an interest 
in Christ in the other, and they are lighter than 
vanity." 



44 WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED? 



In a few months his honors and riches were gone, 
and his mother and friends would no longer own 
him. The poorest servants, who used to fall at his 
feet as though he was a god, now passed him in 
ecorn ; and if they had seen him dying with thirst, 
they would not have given him a cup of cold water. 
He became a merchant's clerk, and lived happy in 
his poverty with the blessings of Christianity. 

Dear reader ! will you, if need be, go and do like- 
wise? Then I can say to you, "Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Till 
then the Holy Ghost will never inspire your heart 
with the faith that brings salvation. 

II. What is it to believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ? 

1. You must believe that he is able to save you. 
When a man gets a true view of his sinfulness, he 
is tempted to believe that God cannot save such a 
sinner as he. While Luther was sick, Satan ap- 
peared in his room, and showed him a roll which 
contained all his sins ; and they were very numerous, 
and his heart quailed before them ; though he had 
firmly faced bishops, princes, and palatines, his sins 
took such a hold upon him that he was not able to 
look up. Suddenly it flashed into his mind that 
there was one thing that was not written there, 
and he said aloud, "One thing you have forgotten ; 
the rest is all true, but one thing you have for- 
gotten to write down." 



WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED? 



4? 



"What is that?" 

"The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us 
from all sin." At this, Satan and his fearful roll 
all disappeared. Just so, sinner, remember there is 
virtue in the blood of Jesus to cleanse all your sins 
away. 

" Jesus, the sinner's friend, to thee, 
Lost and undone, for aid I flee ; 
Weary of earth, myself, and sin, 
Open thine arms, and take me in. 
Pity and heal my sin-sick soul ; 
'Tis thou alone canst make me whole : 
Dark till in me thine image shine, 
And lost I am till thou art mine." 

2. You must have faith in his willingness. 
Many a doubting heart feels that God may be able 
to do what lie is not willing to do. And Satan will 
suggest that your day of grace is gone, and it is no 
use to try, and you might as well give over and be 
lost. And no doubt many have given over the at- 
tempt from such a temptation. 

Precious soul ! just think for a moment how 
readily the prodigal's father saw him and ran to 
meet him when he was a great way off, and fell on 
his neck, and kissed him. Just so your offended 
Father in heaven is ready just now to receive you 
with all your un worthiness, and to put on you the 
best robe, and kill for you the fatted calf. Yea, the 
very angels in heaven are ready to rejoice over your 
speedy return. 



46 



WHAT SHALL I DO TO BE SAVED ? 



" Far off the father saw him move, 
In pensive silence mourn, 
And quickly, ran, with arms of love, 
To welcome his return. 

" Through all the courts the tidings flew, 
And spread the joy around; 
The angels tuned their harps anew, 
The long lost son is found ! " 

3. You must believe that he is able and willing 
now; that he is just now waiting to accept you, and 
to pardon all your sins without any merit of your 
own. If you are seeking the blessing by faith, you 
are expecting it now ; but if by works, then you will 
always have something to do, and you will never be 
saved. Sing, — 

" Just as I am, without one plea, 
* But that thy blood was shed for me, 

And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, 

O Lamb of God, I come, I come." 

4. Still, there is one step further, or all is still in 
vain. You must believe that he does save you ; 
that just now, as you yield yourself to him and put 
your trust in him, he does save, — not he did or he 
will save, but that he does thi* moment save, — and 
as your poor heart sweetly trusts in the blessed Jesus 
as saving you now, you will find that he does save. 
Your chains will fall off, your heart will go free, 
and you will arise, go forth, and follow him. And 
you shall sweetly sing, — - 



THE MEDIATOKIAL KEIGN. 



47 



u Arise, my soul, arise ; 

Shake off thy guilty fears ! 
The bleeding Sacrifice 

In my behalf appears. 
Before the throne my Surety stands ; 
My name is written on his hands. 

" My God is reconciled, 

His pardoning voice I hear ; 
He owns me for his child ; 

I can no longer fear. 
"With confidence I now draw nigh, 
And Father, Abba Father, cry." 



THE MEDIATORIAL KEIGN. 

All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, 
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." — 
Matt, xxviii. 19. 



HE tragedy of the cross is now past ; its 
bleeding Victim has expired in holy 
triumph. He has visited the regions of 
death, and bound the monster in chains ; for forty 
days he lingers upon earth to encourage and edify 
his feeble followers ; but he is about to leave them, 
and ascend unto his Father ; but he has appointed 
the eleven apostles to meet him in one of the moun- 
tains of Galilee, and when there, he spake unto 




48 



THE MEDIATORIAL EEIGN. 



them, saying, "All power is given unto me in 
heaven and in earth.' 5 And upon the strength of 
this mighty gift, he gives them their great and 
glorious commission : " Go ye, therefore, and teach 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 

The disciples had been sorely tempted to think, 
when Christ was crucified, that their cause would 
fail, and that the powers of hell would prevail ; but 
now their risen Lord dispels all their fears by the 
blessed assurance that as the Mediator between God 
and man, he has all power given into his hands, 
both in heaven and in earth. 

We may ask, How did he attain that power? 

As the Son of God, he was equal with the Father 
in power and glory ; but as the Son of man, he was 
all weakness ; but as the Son of God and the Son 
of man, in his two distinct natures and one person 
forever, and having borne our sins in his own body 
upon the cross, he has thereby purchased all this 
power of earth and heaven which was required to 
carry out the great plan of redemption. So that, 
as the Mediator between God and man, he has all 
authority and power in heaven and in earth. And 
this power was not assumed or usurped, but given 
to him as his lawful and purchased right. 

We inquire, Where has he this power? In heaven 
and in earth, — that is, in the whole universe, — 
"he is Lord of all." 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



49 



I. In heaven. 

1. All angelic power is in his hands. When God 
brought his first begotten into the world, he said, 
tf Let all the angels of God worship him." 

The j worship around his mediatorial throne, and 
wait to follow out his plans, and to go at his bidding 
on any errand of mercy to his tempted followers, — 
to carry Elijah a cruse of water and a cake baked 
on the coals, and to take Lot and his daughters by 
the hand, and hurry them out of the city doomed to 
destruction ; or to fly swiftly through the universe, 
and tell Daniel that his prayers are answered, and 
to stop the mouths of the lions while Daniel sleeps 
sweetly in their den, and to deliver Peter out of the 
prison from between the soldiers, and to tell Corne- 
lius that his prayers and his alms are come up for a 
memorial before God. And also wait at the twelve 
gates of the New Jerusalem, to minister unto those 
who shall be heirs of salvation. 

And "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
from heaven, it will be, with his mighty angels, in 
flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
not God, and obey not the gospel." 

And hence the name of Jesus is above every 
name that is named, not only in this world, but in 
that which is to come. — Eph. i. 20, 21. 

2. All redeeming power in heaven is given to 
Christ. 

The plenitude of the Holy Spirit is given to him, 
and how gloriously he shed it down upon the day of 
4 



50 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



Pentecost ; and that blessed Spirit has been in this 
world ever since, and is the purchased gift of the 
Son of God for the salvation of the world, without 
which the plan of salvation would be a failure. 

3. Christ has the heavenly power to prepare man- 
sions for all that love him, and they shall be received 
by the power of Christ into these " everlasting habi- 
tations." 

4. To Christ is given the power in heaven to place 
all those who ovei'come on the throne of God ; and 
they shall be kings and priests unto God and the 
Father forever and ever. 

II. Christ has all power on earth. 

1. He has the power to give repentance. 

He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give 
repentance. No sinner has the power to repent 
except by the power of the Holy Ghost. We are 
in meekness to " instruct those who oppose them- 
selves — if God (in Christ) will peradventure give 
them repentance — to the acknowledging of the 
truth, that they may recover themselves out of the 
snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at 
his will." 

2. The Son of man hath power on earth to for- 
give sins. Glory to God for this blessed fact ! and 
also that so many millions have proved it, and that 
he is ready to pardon millions more. 

3. He has power to fully sanctify every true be- 
liever. There is a blessed efficacy in the blood of 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



51 



Christ to cleanse from all sin. He has power to 
put upon his people the beauty of holiness, so that 
they shall be " without spot or wrinkle, or any such 
thing." 

4. He has power to call, qualify, and commission 
his ambassadors, and to send them out to offer terms 
of mercy to sinners in the ends of the earth. All 
these ambassadors are under his special protection, 
and are maintained, in the discharge of their duties, 
by this almighty power of their loving Head. 

5. Christ had all power given to him to lead forth 
his infant church to certain victory, although they 
had to contend against the powers of earth and 
hell. 

When Christianity began, it was without temples, 
without wealth, without secular or political power. 
It was the sect everywhere spoken against through- 
out the Roman empire. The populace cried against 
it, and philosophers scorned it. Still, by the power 
of Christ, it flourished and mightily prevailed. 

The leaven of gospel truth sent forth its power 
till thousands yielded to its sway ; and its circle of 
influence widened till it numbered its converts not 
only in Rome, but also in the palace of Caesar. 

Christianity began in an age when literature, the 
arts and sciences prevailed ; but by ihe power of 
Christ and his eternal truth, it went on its way from 
conquering to conquer. And even at the time that 
the Roman Empire was declining and tending to 
decay, Christianity was still fresh and flourishing. 



52 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



When that mighty kingdom was falling to pieces, 
the kingdom of Christ was becoming more firmly 
established. 

When Christ gave this commission to his disciples 
the religious systems of Judaism and Paganism were 
deeply rooted, and had lasted since the nation began. 
Judaism had inwrought itself into the daily usages 
of the people, and, to human appearances, it was 
impossible to uproot it. Still, this rising power 
spread and prevailed, and laid its immortal founda- 
tions deep and strong. 

6. Through the thousand years of the dark ages 
the power of Christ preserved his church against the 
dialectic quibbles and subtilties of scholasticism on 
the one hand, and against the new species of philoso- 
phy called mysticism on the other. 

This germ of Christianity was kept alive till 
Luther arose, and the blessed era of the Reforma- 
tion began, and brought to light the glorious doc- 
trine of justification by faith. This reformation was 
the dawn of that day which is to increase in splendor 
till the millennium glory shall dawn. 

7. The power of Jesus Christ to extend his king- 
dom is seen in the fact that Christianity no longer 
seeks to extend its sway by intolerance and persecu- 
tion. Even Calvin and Luther were a little inclined 
to use these measures. Intolerance drove the Puri- 
tans from England. Now, thank God ! " the light 
of Christianity has so reformed the sentiments of 
men, that, both in the church and out of it, liberty 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



53 



of religious opinions and worship is generally de- 
fended." 

8. Jesus manifested his power further in the spread 
of civil as well as religious liberty. "The ministry 
of God's word no longer belongs to princes ; and a 
bishop is something more than a lieutenant of a 
temporal king." 

9. It is really astonishing to mark the hand of 
God and the power of Christ in advancing the spread 
of his kingdom, for the last twenty-five years, by the 
cruel hand of war ; showing plainly that the war 
power is in his hand, and that he can " make the 
wrath of man to praise him." In 1848, constitu- 
tional government was planted in Sardinia, and the 
door opened to the Bible in Piedmont by the hand 
of war ; and it had its issue in the Sultan's firman 
proclaiming toleration in the Mohammedan empire 
and repealing the death penalty for professing 
Christianity. 

In 1857 came the mutiny in India and the great 
war that followed. The triumph of British arms 
was the triumph of toleration to all the tribes and 
languages, declaring Christianity to be the religion 
of the empire. 

Then war broke out in China, which put an end 
to the complete isolation which that empire had 
maintained for so many centuries, and opened that 
distant land to the Bible and the missionary. 

Having accomplished its object in the far East, 
war returned westward ; and in 1857 the war of 
11 



54 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



independence broke out, which opened the whole 
country from the Alps to Sicily, the Papal States 
excepted, to the spread of the Bible. (Now, thank 
God ! the Papal States are opened, and Jesus, by 
war, has helped to accomplish it.) It now crossed 
the Atlantic to this new world, and with its hoarse 
voice it proclaimed liberty to the captive. Amid 
fields of awful carnage, it struck down one of the 
most accursed systems of slavery the world ever 
saw. Now it moved to the old world ; and in the 
heart of Germany, in a few short days, Austria was 
overthrown, and ceased to exist as a German power. 
The strongest political bulwark of the Papacy was 
thrown down by the rise of a great Protestant king- 
dom in Germany, and the balance of political power 
was turned in favor of liberty and evangelical truth. 

And since then, this same rising Protestant nation 
has laid low the proud nation of France, and there- 
by broken the staff upon which Romanism was 
resting. 

This is a marvellous chain of events. It strik- 
ingly reveals the footprints of Him who is the 
church's Head and the world's Kino;. Satan's kins;- 
dom of idolatry has been smitten all round, and one 
nntion after another is bowing to the sway of the 
King of kings and Lord -of lords. 

This shows us that the Prince Immanuel, the 
King of Zion, has even the war power in his hand, 
and has used it mightily to extend his own kingdom. 

All power is stiil in his hands, " and this power 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 55 

penetrates all depths of matter, heaves in the roll of 
the sea, administers back of thrones, and tempers 
the courses of history." 

" All hail the power of Jesus' name ! 
Let angels prostrate fall, 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 
And crown him Lord of all. 
Let every kindred, every tribe, 

On this terrestrial ball, 
To him all majesty ascribe, 
And crown him Lord of all." 

10. I have only space to mention the fact that 
the almighty power of Jesus is manifest in the won- 
derful manner in which he has blessed the missionary 
operations for the last fifty years. For instance, — 

In Africa, "on the w r estern coast alone, in fifty 
years have been organized two hundred Christian 
churches, and upwards of fifty thousand hopeful 
converts have been gathered into the churches. 
Two hundred schools, several seminaries, and a col- 
lege at Monrovia, and not less than' twenty thousand 
native youths, are receiving a Christian training. 
Thirty different dialects have been studied out and 
reduced to writing, into most of which large por- 
tions of the Sacred Scriptures, as well as other 
religious books, have been translated, printed, and 
circulated among the people ; and it is believed that 
some knowledge of the Christian religion has been 
brought within the reach of five millions of immortal 
beings who had never before heard of the blessed 



56 



THE MEDIATORIAL REIGN. 



name of Jesus. Bright Christian lights now bes^n 
to blaze up at intervals, along a line of sea-coast of 
three thousand miles, where unbroken night formerly 
reigned." 

What shall we say of the mighty transformation 
that has taken place in India since British rule has 
carried British protection, civilization, and especially 
Christianity to that mighty empire ? 

The same is true of China and Japan, and of 
Australia we may almost say that a nation was 
born in a day. 

And even the savage islands of the South Seas 
are become as the garden of the Lord, and the fero- 
cious and cannibal people are clothed and in their 
right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus. These are 
mighty manifestations of the almighty power of Jesus. 

" O Jesus ! ride on till all are subdued ; 
Thy mercy make known, and sprinkle thy blood ; 
Display thy salvation, and teach the new song, 
Through every nation, and people, and tongue." 

Dear reader, has this blessed power of Christ 
reached thy heart? Although he is so powerful, he 
will never force an entrance into thy soul. He says, 
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any man 
hear my voice, and will open the door, I will come 
in." Open that door, dear sinner, just now, and 

" Come in, come in, thou heavenly Guest, 
And never hence remove, 
But sup with me, and let the feast 
Be everlasting love." 



FAITH IN GOD. 



" Have faith in God." — Mark ii. 22. 

HE fig tree had dried up from the roots. 
And Peter, calling to remembrance, saith 
unto him, "Master, behold the fig tree, 
which thou cursedst, is withered away. And Jesus 
answering, saith unto them, Have faith in God. 
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say 
unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be thou 
cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, 
but shall believe that those things which he saith 
shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he 
saith ; therefore, I say unto you, What things soever 
ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive 
them, and ye shall have them." 

What a mighty encouragement this is to our 
faith ! How explicitly Jesus teaches us to trust ; 
yea, to ask for whatever we desire, and to believe 
that we receive; that there and then the act of favor 
passes the divine mind, md the bestowment is made 

57 




58 



FAITH IN GOD. 



of what things soever we have asked of God under 
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost ! 

" If thy Spirit moves my breast, 
Hear and fulfil thine own request." 

This is praying in the Holy Ghost, — " lifting up 
holy hands without wrath and without doubting ; " 
this is " the prayer of the righteous man that avail- 
eth much." It is both effectual and fervent. But 
I have chosen this passage for a more general text, 
and would say, — 

I. Have faith in the existence of God. 

" There is a God ; all Nature speaks 

Through earth, and air, and sea, and skies : 
See, from the clouds his glory breaks 
When earliest beams of morning rise." 

We have been taught, from our infancy, that 
there is a God ; but did we ever take in the mighty 
conception of the God of the universe? Just think 
for a moment, and realize that God is ; that he must 
be. The wonderful effect — i.e., the existence of 
the universe — implies the existence of a cause equal 
to the effect. 

II. Have faith in the persons of the Godhead. 

1. God the Father. The fatherhood of God is 
one of the most glorious facts of revelation. Have 
faith in God the Father, who so loved the world 



FAITH IN GOD. 



59 



that he "gave his only begotten Son, that whoso- 
ever belie veth in him shall not perish, but have 
everlasting life." 

2. Have faith in God the Son, who laid down his 
life for the world, by whose stripes we are healed. 
How can we doubt the blessed Jesus ? 

3. Have faith in God the Holy Ghost, — the ever- 
blessed Spirit, who is equal with the Father and the 
Son in power and glory ; the third person in the 
glorious Trinity, whose offices are to quicken, en- 
lighten, convict, inspire faith, regenerate, and sanc- 
tify the soul. 

III. Have faith in the attributes of God. 

1. Our God is love. "His nature and his name 
is love." Blessed is the man that can sing and 
feel, — 

" O Love ! thou bottomless abyss, 

My sins are swallowed up in thee ; 
Covered is my unrighteousness, 
Nor spot of guilt remains in me." 

2. God is merciful. Have faith in the mercy of 
God. By this, God is disposed to pity and relieve 
those that are in distress. "It differs from love 
thus : the object of love is the creature only or -sim- 
ply, but the object of mercy is the creature fallen 
into misery." This mercy of God leads him to pity 
those that are in distress, and it mitigates, as far as 
possible, those who are fallen into sin. It makes 
him ready to relieve the miserable and to pardon 



60 



FAITH IN GOD. 



the guilty. This mercy is essential to his nature. 
— Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7. It is free, as nothing out of 
himself can be the cause of it. Not even the suffer- 
ings of Christ are the cause of it, but the effects. 
This mercy is infinite, pardoning the greatest 
offences. — Luke i. 78. It is immutable. — Matt, 
iii. 6. It is displayed in and through Christ. — 
Eph. ii. 

3. God is true. Have faith in the truth of God. 
He cannot lie. 

" No word he hath spoken 
Was ever yet broken." 

"A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and 
right is he." 

4. Have faith in the omnipotence of God. He is 
the almighty God. "Can anything be too hard for 
God?" His omnipotent arm is our defence. This 
attribute is displayed in the creation and preserva- 
tion of the universe ; in the redemption of man by 
Christ ; in the conversion of sinners ; in the continu- 
ation and success of the gospel in the world ; in the 
final perseverance of the saints ; in the resurrection 
of the dead ; and in the eternal rewards and pun- 
ishments. 

5. Have faith in the omnipresence of God. God 
fills the universe he has made. His infinity shows 
this. — Ps. cxxxix ; also his power, which is every- 
where. — Heb. i. 3; his providence. — Acts xvii. 
27, 28. ''As he is a spirit, he is so omnipresent aa 



FAITH IN GOD. 



Gl 



not to be mixed with the creature, or to be divided, 
a part in one place and a part in another." 

6. Have faith in the omniscience of God. God 
is everywhere, and where he is he sees. He has 
infinite knowledge. — Ps. cxlvi. 5. This must refer 
to all things and to all persons, at all times, places, 
and things. This omniscience is a part of himself ; 
hence he knows all things independently, distinctly, 
infallibly, and perpetually. This knowledge is pe- 
culiar to himself. — Mark xiii. 32; Job xxxvi. 4. 
It is incomprehensible. 

7. Have faith in the justice of God. The judge 
of all the earth will do right in rewarding the right- 
eous and punishing the wicked. Sin shall not go 
unpunished. 

We may remark that all these attributes are but 
so many manifestations or characteristics of the 
divine nature, and they blend in as beautiful har- 
mony as the colors of the rainbow ; and as those 
various colors make one bow, so all these attributes 
make one God ; and as all the colors of the rainbow 
are but the various manifestations of the white light, 
so, it seems to me, we may say all these attributes 
of God are but the various manifestations of the love 
of God. 

This mercy of God is his love, pitying and help- 
ing the distressed and sorrowful. Truth is love in 
its integrity ; justice is love rewarding the righteous 
and punishing the wicked. It seems to me there is 
a great deal of misunderstanding about the justice 



FAITH IN GOD. 



of God. I find, in human governments, men make 
laws and attach penalties, build prisons, arrest and 
punish criminals ; and they find that this must be 
done for a terror to evil-doers, and for a praise to, 
and protection of, those that do well. All this is 
constantly going on around us ; and if we search to 
the bottom of the whole,' we shall find that it is all 
underlaid with the principle of love ; that it is be- 
cause the Commonwealth of Massachusetts loves its 
citizens that it executes the penalties of the laws 
upon those who have the daring to break them. It 
is well known that no government could stand that 
did not execute its laws; otherwise, anarchy and 
ruin would prevail. Hence we stand by, and see 
our fellow-men arrested and cast into prison, and 
we say, "They ought to be punished; yea, they 
must be punished, or we could not live." 

Then, on the same principle, the government of 
heaven must stand. God's laws must be executed 
and the penalties inflicted ; and those who will defy 
the infinite love of God will 'find themselves in the 
burning folds of that love, and as they sink down 
into the abyss of hell, they will feel, in the very 
depths of their souls, that "God is love;" and this 
will make their misery so hard to bear. 

The sure way to escape the judgments of God is to 
be a loyal citizen of the government of heaven ; and 
those who have rendered themselves obnoxious to 
justice must fly to an offended God in the name of 
Christ, and they shall find salvation from all sin. 



FAITH IN GOD. 



63 



IV. Have faith in the means that God has or- 
dained for the salvation of sinners, — preaching, 
praying, personal effort ; labor in faith. The val- 
ley of dry bones was raised to a living army by 
the words of the prophet and the. power of God, 
and Jericho's walls fell down when they had been 
compassed seven days. Ask and work in faith, 
and it shall be done. God's promises are so many 
pledges that he will bless: "If ye sow in tears, ye 
shall reap in joy." 

V. Have faith in the threatenings of God. These 
are awful, but they will assuredly be executed. 
Fear and tremble before God, ye poor, guilty 
sinners ! 

VI. Examples of faith abound in the Old and 
New Testament, and in the present day. 

Look at Mr. Muller in England, what mighty 
works he has wrought by faith in God, — hundreds 
of thousands of dollars have been sent him to build 
up one institution after another for thousands of 
poor orphans ! Dr. Cullis is doing the same work, 
on a smaller scale, for the poor consumptives in 
Boston, and has already secured a permanent home 
for them worth one hundred thousand dollars ; and 
ail this, and the money to meet daily expenses, has 
been given, in answer to prayer, without asking 
any one but God. 

Rev. James Caughey by faith went out as a 



64 



FAITH IN GOD. 



flaming Evangelist, and led twenty thousand souls to 
Jesus, and ten thousand believers into the enjoyment 
of perfeet love, while on a tour of revivals in Eng- 
land and Ireland. 

Look at Rev. A. B. Earle, the Baptist Evangelist, 
who is in labors more abundant, and in success in 
winning souls above measure. Time would fail to 
tell of Inskip, McDonald, Mrs. Vancott, Moody, 
and others who are doing their full share of work to 
turn this world upside down. 

Let us all, at all times and in all things, great or 
small, " have faith in God." 



PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 

" For it became him, for whom are all things and by whom are 
all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the 
Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering." — 
Heb. ii. 10. 



NE of the most important truths of the 
Bible is couched in these words : that 
such is the constitution of human nature 
that perfection can be obtained only by suffering ; 
yea, that it becomes, i.e., was suitable to all the 
attributes of him for whom are all things as their 
ultimate end, and by whom are all things as their 




PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 



65 



sole Creator, in bringing many of the adopted sons 
to glory, by the scheme of sovereign mercy, to make 
the Captain, the Leader, and Author of their salva- 
tion perfect through suffering, not only by what he 
suffered as the world's Redeemer, but also by what 
he endured as the Holy among the unholy. By a 
severe process of suffering, Christ was made com- 
pletely fit for the full execution of his office ; by 
sufferings, also, he was brought to the glorious end 
of all his troubles, even by the death of the cross. 

From this and other Scriptures, we draw the fol- 
lowing proposition : That it is an established prin- 
ciple in the divine government, in bringing many 
heirs unto glory, to mahe them perfect through the 
agency of sanctified suffering. 

I. The Scriptures state this. Hence, "many are 
the afflictions of the righteous." "Whom he loveth, 
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son or daughter 
whom he receiveth. Now, if ye endure chastening, 
God dealeth with you as with sons. Now, no chas- 
tening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but 
grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the 
peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are 
exercised thereby." 

II. Experience attests it. 

1 . By this process Noah becair e perfect in prac- 
tical obedience in preparing the ark for the saving 
of his house. 

5 



66 



PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 



2. Abraham became the father of the faithful by 
patiently and faithfully suffering the will of God. 

3. The mighty soul of Moses became an embodi- 
ment of meekness by the sufferings he endured of 
the children of Israel in the wilderness. 

4. The poverty and persecution of Elijah led him 
to such communion with God that he could shut or 
open heaven at his pleasure. 

5. Job by afflictions became the model of pa- 
tience. 

6. Daniel became perfect, in his piety and fidelity, 
under the bitter pains of his fierce tormentors, and 
by his passage through the lion's den. 

7. Then we have the New Testament saints, who, 
like their Master and Model, were made perfect 
through suffering. Nearly all the apostles were 
called to seal their testimony with their blood, after 
living lives of poverty and pain. 

8. We have the summing up of the experience of 
Paul in 2 Cor. iv. 8-10 : ?? We are troubled on 
every side, yet not distressed ; we are perplexed, 
but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; 
cast down, but not destroyed : always bearing about 
in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the 
life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body ; 
for we which live are always delivered unto death 
for Jesus' sake, that the iife also of Jesus might be 
made manifest in our mortal flesh/' Again, 2 Cor. 
xi., Paul declares that he was ''in stripes above 
measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 



PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 



67 



Of the Jews, five times I received forty stripes save 
one, thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, 
thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and day I have 
been in the deep ; in weariness and painfulness, in 
watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings 
often, in cold and nakedness." V/hat an experience 
for one of the greatest and best of men! 

9. Then he gives the experience of ministers in 
general, and of Methodist and Moravian ministers 
in particular, in 2 Cor. vi. 4-10 : " Giving no 
offence in anything, that the ministry be not 
blamed ; but in all things approving ourselves as 
the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflic- 
tions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in im- 
prisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in 
fastings ; by pureness, by knowledge, by long suffer- 
ing, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love un- 
feigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God^ 
by the a^mor of righteousness on the right hand and 
on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report 
and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as 
unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and be- 
hold we live ; as chastened, and not killed ; as sor- 
rowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making 
many rich ; as having nothing, and yet possessing 
all things." These are the means that infinite Wis- 
dom takes to perfect those whom he would fit for 
usefulness here, or for glory hereafter. 

10. Luther's experience was one of the same im- 
port. Who could suffer more than this mighty man 



68 



PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 



from opposition both from earth and hell? Kings, 
princes, popes, cardinals, and councils were at war 
with him ; and none but God can tell how much he 
suffered in gaining that perfection of Christian char- 
acter which has exalted him far above his followers. 

11. Wesley and his followers in England and 
America attained to a perfection of power with God 
and man, that they never could have gained, but for 
what they so humbly suffered. 

"Heavy afflictions," says a pious writer, "when 
sanctified by the grace of God, are the best benefac- 
tors to heavenly affections ; and where afflictions 
hang heaviest, corruptions hang loosest, and grace 
that is hid in nature is then most fragrant when the 
fire of affliction is put under to distill it." 

12. Secular history affirms the same principle. 
Homer penned his marvellous, if not unequalled 

poetry, amid a life of wretchedness ; " Lucretius 
published his thoughts amidst a life of most terrible 
misfortunes ; " " Demosthenes launched his thunders 
because he heard them around him ; " the torch of 
discord kindled the eloquence of Cicero ; " Tacitus 
felt his genius awake at the sound of the chains un- 
der which the universe groaned from the time that 
Rome acknowledged tyrants ; " " Tasso grew sharper 
amidst his disappointments ; " Milton, amid the en- 
gagements of earthly factions, "transports to the 
heights of heaven those combats which desolated his 
country, and the faction of the citizen produced the 
sublime poet." 



PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 69 



13. Religious history, as we shall further see, 
testifies to the same fact. 

St. Chrysostom returns from his exile with new 
arms in favor of eloquence. 

Bossuet, one of the greatest pulpit orators of 
France, "excited by contradiction, communicated 
the agitation of his genius to his writings ; he took 
the thunder from the hands of the Most High, and 
overturned at his feet monarchs and empires." 

Young, the author of the celebrated "Night 
Thoughts," "bending under the weight of his sor- 
rows, formed the whole universe into a mountain of 
ruins, and eclipsed the august luminary of Nature 
before the gloomy torch of Death." 

14. This same truth holds true as to philosophy. 
Few philosophers have attained to perfection but by 
their adversities. 

Descartes, the reformer of philosophy, while in 
persecution, "broke the old machine of the universe, 
and formed a new one ; " for he set aside the empiric 
philosophy, or philosophy of experience, of England, 
and the Aristotelian scholastics, and adopted the 
rigorous systematic, or mathematical method of 
reasoning. 

Galileo, a Tuscan mathematician, "weighed the 
elements in the bottom of his dungeon, and aston- 
ished Nature received his laws ; " for he brought 
forth the Copernican system of astronomy. 

" Genius alone is free in the midst of fetters. 
Peace corrupts people, and precipitates them to 
12 



70 



PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING. 



sleep. Agitation renews the youth of empires, and 
conducts them towards their grandeur. The maj- 
esty of virtue appears thus in the eyes of the peo- 
ple. Let us respect misfortune ; it possesses the 
?nost beautiful domination, — the only one whose 
duration shall run coeval with the universe " 



In conclusion, let us be willing to be made per- 
fect in faith, in patience, in love, and in holiness 
by the very same means that God the Father used 
to perfect the humanity of his only Son, who, in 
this as in other respects, has set us an example, that 
we should tread in his steps, even to be. made per- 
fect through suffering. 

"Now the God of peace that brought again from 
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the 
sheep, through blood of the everlasting covenant, 
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, 
working in you that which is well pleasing in his 
sio-ht through Jesus Christ." "But the God of all 
grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by 
Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while* 
make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 
To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 
Amen." 



NOTICES OF THE PRESS 

OF 

THE GIFT OF THE HOLT GHOST 

The Believer's Privilege, 

AND 

SELECT SERMONS ON CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. 
By Rev. E. DAVIES, Evangelist. 

From Rev. R. "W. ALLEN, in "The Methodist Home Journal." 

" The Gift of the Holt Ghost the Believer's Privilege," 
is the title of a work issued by Eev. E. Davies. It contains seven chap- 
ters, bearing the following titles : — " The Gift of the Holy Ghost," " Brief 
History of the Three Dispensations," " The Results of the Fiery Baptism," 
" The Holy Ghost Ruling in the Early Christian Church," " The Holy 
Ghost in the Church of the Preseut Day," " Testimonies of its Baptism," 
and " Testimonies Continued," with an Appendix on " The Three Dispen- 
sations." It is written in a vigorous, clear, earnest style, Methodistic and 
Scriptural, and its circulation at the present time will have a most excel- 
lent effect on the Church. What the Church especially needs is the Pen- 
tecostal baptism, and this book will greatly assist in obtaining it. TTe 
say to all, Read it with prayer, and it will lead you into the higher and 
richer experiences of the Christian dispensation. The author has done an 
excellent work in preparing and publishing this book. 



From Eev. Dr. SHERMAN. 

" The Gift of the Holt Ghost," by Rev. E. Davies, the Evange- 
list, who employs his pen as freely as his voice in preaching Christ. 
Like his other works this is marked by clearness, point, directness of 
aim, and a certain earnestness and incisiveness, which will not fail to profit 
the reader. In plain, Saxon language, he strikes home to the heart, 
opening to the view of the seeker the nature and offices of the Spirit, 
and the possibility of entire purity through his influence. The booh 

can only do good, and should be widely read. _ . .._ . . _ . . 

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From THE METHODIST HOME JOURNAL. 

Eev. E. Daties, convinced of the utility of the press, and the power 
of a live book to help forward the spiritual life of the Church, is en- 
gaged not only in personal effort, hut keeps his pen busy for God. A 
new publication noticed and commended by our Boston correspondent, 
entitled " The Gift of the Holy Ghost," is a portable book of 108 pages, 
[t also contains nine stirring sermons on Christian Experience, which fill 
70 pages. The book is bound in fine cloth, gilt back and centre, for the 
small sum of SO cents, and is also furnished in neat, substantial paper 
binding, for 50 cents per copy. 



From THE NEW YOHS WEEKLY WITNESS. 

Eev. E. Davies has taken advantage of the interest gathering around 
Trinity Sunday to bring out this volume, which gives proof of the Divinity 
of the Holy Ghost, a Brief History of the Three Dispensations, and some 
new testimonies of living divines to the reality and power of the baptism 
of the Holy Spirit. This book may be perused v*ith profit by Christians 
of all denominations. 

From THE METHODIST. 

•« The Gift of the Holt Ghost the Believer's Privilege," 
by Eev. E. Davies, contains the substance of a number of sermons on 
the means of obtaining the highest Experience of Christian Life, the 
Baptism of the Holy Ghost. The author is well known as an earnest and 
effective Evangelist, and a welcome contributor to church papers, and as 
the author of several works adapted to revival occasions, and on holiness. 
Published by the author, Beading, Mass., and by the religious publishing 
houses of Boston and Philadelphia 



From ZIGN'S EEEALD. 

Eev. E. Davies, the indefatigable Evangelist, keeps his pen as busy as 
his tongue. He has just issued " The Gift of the Holy Ghost. 5 ' This 
instructive book contains discourses, testimonies, and exhortations, upon 
the higher work of the Holy Spirit in the redeemed heart. It furnishes 
good seed for a spiritual harvest. 



This most timely and effective book has run through one 
edition in a short time, and the second edition is published. 

Send your orders to the author. 

EEADIXG, MASS. 



Liberal Discount to Ministers, Publishers, and Book Agents. 



